The sports season in Qatar is in full swing with numerous competitions taking place across the country. Among them, thrilling horse racing and equestrian events have stolen the limelight, captivating fans every weekend. While the Qatar-UAE Super Cup football showdowns continue between clubs from the two nations, the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, and the Qatar Equestrian Federation, in collaboration with Al Shaqab, have been staging exciting horse racing and showjumping competitions. The previous horse racing week, which featured the Al Kharrara Cup and Khor Al Adaid Cup days, concluded with the thrilling H E Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani Rifle Day races – one of the major events on the domestic horse racing calendar – yesterday. Held at the Al Rayyan Racecourse, the event saw 10 thrilling races, with the coveted H E Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani trophy titles up for grabs. The day culminated in the high-stakes H E Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani Rifle, a 2200m Class 1 contest featuring top racers. This exciting meeting set the stage for the prestigious H H The Amir Sword Festival, the country’s biggest racing event scheduled for next month. A few kilometers away from Al Rayyan Racecourse, Al Shaqab played host to the top riders from across the globe for the second round of the Doha International Equestrian Tour. Over three days of action, spectators were treated to thrilling contests in one-star, two-star and four-star categories, as well as events for future riders. The competition concluded yesterday, with the third and final round of the Doha Tour set to take place from January 23-25. This year’s edition has attracted 277 riders from around the world with a total prize pool of €1.7m on offer. Horse racing will continue in the coming months, with the three-day H H The Amir Sword Festival scheduled to begin on February 13. The final day of the festival will feature the season’s most prestigious and richest races: the H H The Amir Sword, a Group 1 for purebred Arabians and the H H The Amir Trophy, a QA Group 1 for thoroughbreds. The equestrian season will also be in full swing, with the Al Shaqab League set to resume after the conclusion of the Doha Tour. Following that, two marquee events at world-class Al Shaqab – the CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines and the Longines Global Champions Tour – will take center stage.
