The Peninsula
Abbes (FR) (TM Fred Texas x Raqiyah), carrying the colours of H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, made a winning return at La Teste-de-Buch Racecourse in France, capturing the Sheikh Mansour Festival - Prix Dormane (Gr3 PA) yesterday.
With Olivier Peslier in the saddle, the Thomas Fourcy-trained colt prevailed by the minimum margin at the main expense of Abdullah bin Fahad Al Attiyah’s Munir Du Soleil (FR) (Munjizx Rahab) who was ridden by Julien Auge and was campaigned at Doha during the winter.
H H Sheikh Mohammed's Hoggar De L’ardus (FR) Mister Ginouxx Alfa De L’ardus) was further 1¼ lengths behind in third under Jerome Cabre.
It was a special day for the French trainer recording a 1-2-3 in this contest as both the runner-up and the third are trained by him as well.
With this victory under his belt, Abbes cemented his position as the favourite for the Qatar Derby des Pur-Sang Arabe de 4ans (Gr1 PA), which is the equivalent of the Prix du Jockey-Club (French Derby) for the Purebred Arabian breed, and which forms part of the Chantilly card on June 20th.
Abbes is out of the high class Raqiyah (Amer) and herself a multiple Gr1 PA, having won at the highest level in France (including two editions of the Coupe d’Europe), Qatar and Britain, where she provided Olivier Peslier with Gr1 PA success on the King George card.