By Rizwan Rehmat
DOHA: Experienced British jockey Richard Mullen yesterday guided Gazwan to an epic Emir’s Sword glory, the richest horse race in the country.
Exhibiting huge reserves of gas in his tank, Gazwan galloped away to glory in the last 100m metres of the 2400m race, flying past Assy and Al Mourtajez as fans warmly applauded the Group 1 PA winner at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC).
Watched by Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani from the VIP enclosure, Gazwan left it late for his final charge as the Julian Smart-trained entry Harry Bentley-ridden Assy could only finish in second spot.
Ridden by Julien Auge, Al Mourtajez grabbed the third spot in the Total-sponsored race at a packed QREC where the three-day racing gala concluded yesterday. Gazwan, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani, clocked a time of 2 minutes 36.45 seconds to ensure top prize of QR 570,000.
It was double joy for veteran Smart who trained Gazwan and Assy, the two top entries in the Emir’s Sword line-up.
Al Mourtajez, trained by Thomas Fourcy, is owned by Al Shaqab Racing.
Mullen, 39, also picked up another hefty paycheck as he guided Izzthatright to the top spot in the Katara Sprint Cup.
Izzthatright clocked a time of 1:07.82 to clinch the 1200 turf race ahead of Roi De Vitesse, who was ridden by Adrie De Vries.
Golden Steps, ridden by racing legend Frankie Dettori, finished in third place as Mullen picked up the top prize of QR 142,500. De Vries won QR 55,000 while Dettori got richer by QR 27,500.
Earlier in Emir’s Sword, Group 1, popular British jockey Bentley completed a five-star day for Qatari trainer Jassim Mohammed Ghazali.
Bentley rode The Blue Eye with purpose and style to win the second richest horse race in the country. The Blue Eye clocked a time of 2:25.85 to clinch the issue in the 2400m turf race. Billabong, ridden by Christian Demuro, finished second while Fort Moville, who had Marvin Suerland in the saddle, completed the top three.
Bentley picked up QR 570,000 for his top place finish while Demuro took home QR 220,000.
Suerland got richer by QR 110,000.
Bentley yesterday also powered to a win with another Ghazali-trained entry Spaghetti, clinching the Emir’s Silver Sword. Spaghetti clocked a time of 2:09.02 in the 1850m race sponsored by Al Hazm.
Mullen guided Civaldi de Montegut to second spot while Jean Baptiste Hamel Djelamer grabbed the third spot. Bentley picked up QR 142,500 for his owner while Mullen took home QR 55,000. Hamel got richer by QR 27,500.
Opera Baron, trained by Ghazali and ridden by JP Guillambert, grabbed top spot in the Al Biddah Mile which was sponsored by NBK.
Opera Baron clocked a time of 1:33.50 to finish ahead of Flying Empress, ridden by Adrie De Vries, and French Encore, who had Darren Williams in the saddle.
Earlier, Bentley started his day of victories with Go Dan Go - trained by Ghazali - who won the Emir’s Shalfa (class 1) race. Go Dan Go clocked a time of 1:59.97 to finish ahead of Magnolia Beach who was ridden by Adrie De Vries. Munro-ridden Jumaira Tower finished third.
In the Qatar International Cup, Julien Auge guided Aba’ath to top spot while Wayne Smith-ridden Thakif finished second. Marco Monteriso guided Gidwa to the third spot.
Jockey Yanis Aouabed guided Moaddie to the top spot in Al Rayyan Breeders Cup, a race sponsored by KIA. Moaddie clocked a time of 2:01.76 to win the 2000m turf race.
Footprintinthesand, ridden by Darren Williams, finished ahead of Mutawassal, who had Jean Baptiste Hamel in the saddle. Aouabed picked up the top prize of QR 85,500.
The Peninsula
