Minister of Sports and Youth H E Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali with the connection of Emperor Maximus. PIC: Juhaim/QREC
Al Rufaa Racing’s Emperor Maximus with Marco Casamento in the saddle produced a lightning pace to corner the Qatar Derby glory winning the feature at Al Rayyan Racecourse yesterday.
As expected the 10-race Qatar Derby day witnessed thrilling battles with the feature race capping an exciting Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s (QREC) 23rd Race Meeting in Al Rayyan.
Upton Park, ridden by Tomas Lukasek, gave a tough challenge to Gassim Ghazali-trained Emperor Maximus but the three-year-old bay colt generated enough pace in the end to seal 1¾ length victory in the 2000m Qatar Derby (Qa Gr1) – Thoroughbreds, Class 1- Far Bend that offered a whopping $500,000 in prize money including $285,000 for the winners.
Minister of Sports and Youth H E Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali crowned the winners of the race.
Soufiane Saadi rode Alban Elie De Mieulle-trained Persian Royal to third place in the race falling just short of Upton Park.
In yesterday’s second biggest race offering a total prize purse of $200,000, Jim Crowley steered Francois Rohaut-trained Moshrif to a dominant five-length win in Qatar International Derby (Gr2 Pa) – Purebred Arabians for four-year-old only – Far Bend.
Alban Elie De Mieulle-trained Bariloche clinched the Al Rayyan Stakes – Thoroughbreds title winning the 1400m race by half a length to seal a double for jockey Ronan Thomas, who led Atlantic Sun to victory in Local Thoroughbred Premium Maiden Cup – the first race of the day.
Meanwhile, Maxime Guyon and Tomas Lukasek also bagged a brace of victories yesterday.
Guyon, who scored a hat-trick of wins on Qatar Oaks day on Wednesday, completed his double after riding Al Ghadeer to a half-length win in Qatar Derby (Gr3 Pa) – Purebred Arabians for three-year-old only.
Gassim Ghazali-trained Devious Company handed him first win of the day by claiming the Derby Day Thoroughbred Handicap Cup 75-95 – Class 3 title.
Lukasek completed a quick brace by leading Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki-trained Harb to win in 1850m Qatar Derby - Local Thoroughbreds for three-year-old only, soon after guiding Al Malki-trained Dayyan to Al Rayyan Thoroughbred Handicap Cup triumph.
Lukas Delozier also stood in the victory stand after riding Rudy Andre Nerbonne-trained Muale’m to win in 2000m Qatar National Derby - Local Purebred Arabians for four-year-old only – Far Bend.
Also yesterday, Wasim Al Sahn-trained Hadlan with Tom Marquand in the saddle claimed the Qatar Derby - Local Purebred Arabians for three-year-old only, winning the 1600m race by over a length.
24th Race Meeting Qatar Derby
(Horse, Trainer, Jockey)
Qatar Derby (Qa Gr1) - Thoroughbreds (3yo Only) (Class 1) (Far Bend)
Emperor Maximus, Gassim Ghazali, Marco Casamento
Qatar International Derby (Gr2 Pa) - Purebred Arabians (4yo Only) (Far Bend)
Moshrif, Francois Rohaut, Jim Crowley
Al Rayyan Stakes - Thoroughbreds (2yo Only) (Class 1) (Far Bend)
Bariloche, Alban Elie De Mieulle, Ronan Thomas
Qatar National Derby - Local Purebred Arabians (4yo Only) (Far Bend)
Muale’m, Rudy Andre Nerbonne, Lukas Delozier
Qatar Derby (Gr3 Pa) - Purebred Arabians (3yo Only)
Al Ghadeer, Francois Rohaut, Maxime Guyon
Qatar Derby - Local Purebred Arabians (3yo Only)
Hadlan, Wasim Al Sahn, Tom Marquand
Qatar Derby - Local Thoroughbreds (3yo Only)
Harb, Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki, Tomas Lukasek
Al Rayyan Thoroughbred Handicap Cup 0-85 (2yo Only) (Class 4)
Dayyan, Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki, Tomas Lukasek
Derby Day Thoroughbred Handicap Cup 75-95 (Class 3)
Devious Company, Gassim Ghazali, Maxime Guyon
Local Thoroughbred Premium Maiden Cup
Atlantic Sun, Alban Elie De Mieulle, Ronan Thomas
