BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Just when most fans thought British jockey Harry Bentley would go without a win yesterday, the 22-year-old Newbury-based jockey produced back-to-back wins, running away with the Al Huwaila Cup, under the lights of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) here.
After going six races without a win, Bentley guided Katja to victory in race seven and then followed it up with a stellar run with Vetlana De Faust in the feature race to move closer to his personal century of victories this season.
Julian Smart-trained Al Majh’Hoor and Abhar finished in the second and third spots respectively as Vetlana De Faust won by a neck’s length.
Bentley’s winning time in the 1850m race was 2:01:40.
“The count is 95,” Bentley said when asked about his personal tally for the season. “I am nearly there and I will try and do it (reach 100 wins for the season).”
“It was almost going to be a terrible night,” the Briton laughed. “To be honest I thought she was struggling tonight and Julian’s got a couple of nice horses. She was definitely up against it. It was a struggle but she went at good pace at the end.”
“The horse really needed that. She dug really, really deep for me,” Bentley said.
When asked where he kept most of his trophies, Bentley said with a smile: “I give away the trophies. I keep the major ones but carrying so many trophies becomes a hassle.”
With Bentley, Qatari trainer Jassim Al Gahzali also celebrated wins in race seven and eight.
“It was a tough race with strong riders,” Al Ghazali said after watching Bentley produce wins in the last two races yesterday.
“When you run with big names like Al Majh’Hoor and Abhar you usually come second and third,” he said.
“I am very happy to see such a strong race,” the Qatari said about the Injaaz Stud-owned entry. “Vetlana wasn’t very fast today but ran well to win.”
After six attempts to win his first race, Bentley finally produced a slick win in race seven when he guided Al Ghazali-trained Katja to victory in the 1200m race.
Katja produced a late, but well-timed, burst of energy to sail past the winning post ahead of Mind Of Madness and Court Life.
Owned by Khalid Yahya Al Khusaai, four-year-old Katja changed gears in the last 100m sailing to win with a time of 1:09.63.
Mind Of Mindness, ridden by Alberto Sanna, was a neck behind Court Life — who was saddled by Louis P Beuzelin.
In race six, Alberto Sanna produced an impressive run with Jumaira Tower, edging Azma and Tarrafal to the top spot in the 2000m marathon.
I. Al Malki-trained Jumaira Tower went past the winning post just a neck’s length ahead of Azma who was ridden by Marco Monteriso. Tarrafal, who hasn’t won a race since January 22, finished third with Golam in the saddle.
In race five, Almotasem Al Balushi produced a well-timed run with Lions Park, winning the 1600m race ahead of Bretherton and Charlie’s Wish.
It was Al Balushi’s fourth win of the season as Lions Park crossed the winning post with a time of 1:33:91.
Bentley-ridden Bretherton was second while Charlie’s Wish — which had Monteriso in the
saddle — had to settle for third place.
Riders and stakeholders will return for action on April 22 when the entries will battle for the Al Zubarah Cup Day trophy.
THE PENINSULA
