2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli of France watching the Qatar 2022 Invitation Cup action at Qatar Equestrian and Racing Club (QREC) along with QREC Chairman Sheikh Mohammed bin Faleh Al Thani in Doha yesterday.
DOHA: French jockey Stephan Ladjadj yesterday guided Sandbetweenourtoes to Qatar 2022 Invitation Cup glory with a well-paced run at Qatar Equestrian and Racing Club (QREC).
Watched by Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli of France from the VIP enclosure, the Jassim Ghazali-trained Sandbetweenourtoes emerged a runaway winner by beating Bazaruto and Pay Freeze to the top spot that was worth a whopping QR 570,000 to the winners.
Galloping towards the finish line with amazing strength, sandbetweenourtoes finished two-and-half lengths ahead Bazaruto in the 1200m turf race.
Second-placed Bazurato, trained by A Abbas and ridden by Mark Lawson, ended up with the prize of QR220,000 as a packed house at QREC was treated to superb finishes in the nine-race extravaganza. Third-placed Pay Freeze - ridden by Adrie De Vr - secured QR 110,000 for the owners in the feature race that was clinched by Sandbetweenourtoes in a time of 1:09:50.
In the Gulf Cup finale, Haifaa beat Arrafa and Suwaida to the top prize of QR285,000. Ridden by O Peslier, Haifaa topped the 1200m race in a time of 1:44:06.
Ridden by Yanis Aouabed, Ghazali-trained Arrafa finished second (worth QR 110,000) while Suwaida - with P Convertino in the saddle - was third (QR 55,000). In the Al Rayyan Cup, T O’Shea powered Aseer to win in a time of 1:53:43. Aseer finished ahead of Sraab - ridden by S Golam - and Majid Safedeen-trained Majd who had Alberto Sanna in the saddle.
The Peninsula
