BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Racing legend Frankie Dettori and experienced trainer Julian Smart yesterday refused to predict a winner from this week’s H H The Emir’s Sword Race, but promised that the stage was set for ‘fierce battles’.
Dettori, who will ride Al Shaqab Racing’s Farh in Qatar’s richest race on Thursday, said ‘anything could happen’ while Smart - who has three entries out of seven - declined to name a winner.
“Yes, it is a small field on Thursday. Anything could happen,” Dettori said as equestrian fans prepared for the first of three days of racing starting today.
“There are lot of runners who can win. You have to be at the best of your game to win,” the celebrated 44-year-old Italian added.
Dettori, who has ridden the winners of more than 500 Group races, said riders will have to jostle for good positions at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) track on Thursday.
“The race is very competitive. The track is sharp. There are lot of runners who can win,” Dettori said.
“You have to be at the top of your game to win. It is a very sharp track, very quick. The straight is less than 400 meters so you have to be really on the ball. A good position is always important,” he added just hours after landing in Doha yesterday.
Smart will be hoping Taraf, Al Majh’Hoor and Djainka Des Forges bring delight on Thursday when Jassim Al Ghazali-trained Vetlana De Faust will race with highly rated British jockey Harry Bentley.
Dettori will bid for Emir’s Sword honours on Thursday with 6-year-old Farh who is trained by Jean-Francois Bernard.
On Thursday, Dettori will also guide Al Ghazali-trained Dubday in the H H The Emir’s Trophy race.
Smart, who has enjoyed 21 wins this season, said he wont commit to making predictions.
“As Frankie said it is a small field this year. It is a little bit disappointing that only seven top class horses this year,” Smart said.
“My horses are in good form. Taraf is in good form and so are Al Majh’Hoor and Djainka Des Forges. And they have to be in good form,” he added.
“It is a small field. Any one from the seven can win. The two entries of Sheikh Joaan’s are good too. Any horse can win the race,” Smart insisted.
Al Ghazali, who has managed an astonishing 98 race wins this season, said he ‘feels ready for wins’ this weekend.
“Each race is very important. All the horses are in good condition and all the races are important in some way or the other,” the Qatari said.
“I have best horses ready for these three days. I have another set of horses also. I think we have good chance to win. I have some legends in our camp,” he added.
“You can’t predict which horses can win. Every entry has chance to win.
“The best horses can also lose. So it is not easy to pick winners. Tactics are important. I like a jockey who does what I tell him to do,” Al Ghazali said.
Al Ghazali will have four runners in the H H The Emir’s Trophy race on Thursday including Dubday to be ridden by Dettori. THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The focus turns to horse racing today at H H The Emir 24th International Equestrian Sword Festival when Qatar’s most prestigious race meeting gets under way following five days of major international horse shows staged under the patronage of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Emir.
At a press conference held in Doha yesterday Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club (QREC) General Manager Sami Jassim Al Boenain said: “We have had a great start to the H H The Emir 24th International Equestrian Sword festival which launched with a fabulous opening ceremony where I hope we have encouraged and inspired even more people to become involved and share our passion for horses.”
He added: “We have some very exciting racing to look forward to over the next three days and competition, especially in the especially in the international Thoroughbred races will be tough We are very grateful to our sponsors who support our events here in Qatar and France and also around the world, the partnerships we have formed with them are very important to us.”
The first of three spectacular days racing which boast a combined prize money offer in excess of QR25m (€6m) is highlighted by the Gulf Cup, a 1600m race on Turf for GCC Bred Arabians (Gulf Corporation Council) aged four-years and over and worth QR285,000 to the winner (€430,000).
Briain-based trainer Marco Botti is set to have his first runner in Qatar when Golden Steps lines up for the day’s joint feature, the Group 3 Qatar 2022 Invitation Cup which also sees Al Shaqab principal jockey Frankie Dettori renew his partnership with Luca Cumani who sends out Mission Approved in the 1200m Turf event. Cumani could also be represented in the following day’s Group 2 Qatar International Cup in which Ayaar is among four reserves.
Botti, who attended the press conference together with Dettori and Qatari trainers Jassim Al Ghazali, said: “I came to Qatar last year just to look and I am delighted to be having a runner this year. Golden Steps is in very good form. Most of his campaign last year was on the straight, but he ran well to finish fourth in a Listed race at Lingfield last time and handled the bend well and we have a good jockey in Marco Monteriso so deserves to take his chance. The owner (Matar Bin Abdullah Al Mannai) was very keen for us to race in Qatar and I hope he will run well.”
Dettori, who also rides Dubday, is bidding for back-to-back victories in Thursday’s H H The Emir’s Trophy.
“Racing in Qatar is very competitive. It’s a sharp track and the straight is only 400 metres so getting a good position early on is very important. Dubday is unbeaten in Qatar, he and I have every confidence that Jassim (Al Ghazali) has got him spot on but it will be a competitive race,” Dettori said.
Qatar International Day, day two of the meeting, is dedicated mostly to Thoroughbreds who will contest six of the nine races and provides and exciting preface for the festival finale on Thursday which features two Group 1 contests, the H H The Emir’s Trophy for Thoroughbreds and the H H The Emir’s Sword for Purebred Arabians in which trainer Julian Smart is looking for his fourth victory in five years.
Tariq Al Siddiqi, Deputy General Manager of QREC and Director of Racing, said: “The track is in very good condition and we are looking forward to welcoming many of the highest rated horses. There is prize money of QR2m for the Group 1 Thoroughbred and QR3m for the H H The Emir’s Sword and we are expecting some very competitive racing.”
Domestic and International media and VIP guests will have an opportunity to mingle with many of the personalities involved in the race meeting at ‘Breakfast with the Stars’, an informal event held at the racecourse tomorrow morning. THE PENINSULA
