DOHA: Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani owned Amico Mio claimed the Barzan Cup at the Al Rayan race track on Thursday. The winner is trained by Yousef Bentaher and was ridden to victory by jockey David Badel.
The seven-race card was dominated by Umm Qarn and Alban de Mieulle trained horses as they swept to four of the seven contests.
Baaria, Fouladh, Muntasar and Tabarak were the horses which did Umm Qarn proud at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (REC).
In the feature event, Barzan Cup (Thoroughbreds rated 85 and above), Amico Mio (David Badel astride) edged Gojeri for a narrow half-length victory in a time of one minute and 38.74 seconds over 1,600 metres.
David Bouland rode three winners in Baaria, Fouladh and Muntasar while the other victorious horse from Umm Qarn was in the hands of Pier Convertino. Baaria produced a brilliant run to claim the Local Thoroughbred Guineas. When the horses left for the 1,400-metre trip, Napolean and Araam were ahead. The other eight horses were in close attendance behind the duo. Baaria was spotted in third. As the horses turned for the homestretch, Baaria came into reckoning even as Napolean held onto the lead. When the big effort was needed, Baaria produced a speedy run to move away from the leader and record victory by three-and-half lengths.
Baaria started the sequence of victories for Umm Qarn and De Mieulle. Baaria’s success came in the second race and immediately De Mieulle, Bouland and Umm Qarn made it a back-to-back double with Fouladh in the Local Bred Pure Arabian Guineas (Group III).
After a gap of one race, De Mieulle and Umm Qarn combination yet again bagged two wins in a row with Muntasar and Tabarak.
Six of the seven races today had prize money of QR 80,000 each.
It was a day when Umm Qarn and De Mieulle hogged the limelight. THE PENINSULA
