The Peninsula
Yas Horse Racing Management’s Hayyan (Munjiz) won the Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club (QREC)-sponsored Gr 1 Qatar Derby des Pur-Sang Arabe de 4 Ans held at Chantily yesterday.
The 2,000-metre run saw good performance and a tough contest. Eventually, it was Hayyan (Munjiz) which won the 2019 Derby, giving his trainer Frédéric Sanchez a first success in a prestigious event like the Qatar Derby des Pur-Sang Arabes de 4 Ans.
The winner was ridden to victory by Ioritz Mendizabal. Yas Horse Racing Management made it a triple by securing the first three place.
Deryan (Mahabb) was half a length behind and came second for trainer D. Guillemin with F X Bertras in the saddle. Kanaan (Sarrab) was further three and a half lengths behind and came third for trainer D Guillemin and jockey P C Boudot. Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi,
QREC Racing Manager, was present at the QREC-sponsored event and presented the trophies to the winners.
Thierry Delègue, racing manager of Yas Horse Racing Management, said: “Our hopes were on Deryan. But Hayyan is a horse we have always estimated. He has a lot of speed and with him the difficulty was to stay relaxed. Thanks to a leader, we had a regular race and the conditions were ideal.
Today, he managed to breathe well and so he could show his incredible turn of foot. We weren’t sure he would stay more than 1.600m but he proved that he is capable of it. The two others, Deryan and Kanaan ran well. We have time to think of their next races.”
QREC’s sponsorship of the Qatar Derby des Pur-Sang Arabe de 4 Ans is part of QREC’s strategy to have a strong presence and to facilitate the participation of Qatari-owned horses at the Europe and the world’s top racecourses and racing events.