The Peninsula
Guided by Faleh Bughanaim, Al Shomos stormed to Al Hamla Cup triumph and sealed a treble for trainer Ahmed Kobeissi in the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s (QREC) second race meeting at Al Rayyan Racecourse yesterday.
The seven-year-old bay mare, owned by Mubarak bin Saeed Aljafai Al Naimi, overcame a tough challenge from last year’s winner Equinoxe, helmed by Soufiane Saadi, to claim one-length victory in the QR100,000 feature.
Alberto Sanna rode Black Pearl to third in the 1600m race for Local Thoroughbred Conditions. QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi crowned the winners of the Al Hamla Cup.
Earlier in the Purebred Arabian Conditions, Battash De Faust, owned by Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Attiya, snatched a short-head win to claim top honours in the penultimate race of the day.
The victory completed a double for jockey Jefferson Smith, which was also the second win of the day for Kobeissi, who also saw Saqr winning the Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate.
Meanwhile, H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Al Shaman was victorious in the Thoroughbred Handicap (75-95) as Lukas Delozier rode the Rudy Nerbonne-trained to 1600m race win by 1¾ lengths over Al Mohalhal.
The Thoroughbred Handicap 60-80 race also witnessed exciting action, with Hassan Ali Alabdulmalik’s Deliver The Dream notching up his first victory in Qatar, under jockey Smith.
The Deborah Amanda Clare Mountain-trained four-year-old colt edged Join Forces, ridden by Delozier by just a quarter of a length in the 1200m run.
Also yesterday, Jassim Ali Bu-karbal’s Huit De Faust was fastest in the Purebred Arabian Handicap (0-75), with Soufiane Saadi guiding the Mohammed Ghazali-trained five-year-old to three-quarters of a length victory in the 1400m run.
Hardan and Lahessar also registered victories in the second race meeting.