Qatar- Saadi rides X Force to feature sprint victory

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Al Thumama Racing's X Force stayed true to his favourite status after sprinting to Umm Al Houl Cup victory in comfortable fashion under Soufiane Saadi at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club's Al Rayyan Park yesterday.
In the Thoroughbred feature race on dirt, Ibrahim al-Malki's ward tracked early leader Izzthatright, ridden by JP Guillambert, before easing past for a breezy four-length victory.
X Force had never finished outside the money since arriving in Qatar late last year, and only stamped his authority with his second straight win this season.
In the penultimate race of the day, a Local Purebred Arabian Conditions event saw Umm Qarn's Sealine take a thrilling victory ahead of Barra as Alban de Mieulle's wards locked out the top two spots in the six-furlong sprint.
Ronan Thomas was astride the six-year-old Umm Qarn horse as the duo beat Soufiane Saadi-ridden Barra by a quarter-of-a-length.
Injaaz Stud's Romantic Heart raced to her first win in Qatar, not only leading a one-two for trainer Mohamed Jassim Ghazali but also a top-three sweep for Qatari jockeys as Meteb Ali al-Marri notched his second win of the season.
Under the apprentice rider, the five-year-old mare held on to her lead in the six-furlong handicap for Thoroughbreds even as Ali Khalid al-Mosallam and his mount Angelic Queen ran out of real estate, settling for second by a quarter-of-a-length. Saleh Salem al-Marri rode Al Hazem Storm to third.
The latter rode a winner in the very next race for Ghazali's father Jassim when High Commander found some late pace in the final furlong of the 1900m Thoroughbred Handicap to edge out Yaarmen by a short head. It was Saleh Salem al-Marri's seventh win of the season.
Ghazali junior had his second winner of the day in Mohamed bin Fahad al-Attiyah's Chaval De Ghazal that landed the Purebred Arabian Claiming Race with his last reserve of energy after leading the 1800m race almost throughout. The five-year-old edged out late raider Anees by three-quarters-of-a-length for a fine win.
Earlier in the day, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani's Khatafaynee registered his first career win with a victory in the Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate in dominant fashion while Dhafi Rashid al-Marri's Dukhan topped the maiden race for Thoroughbreds.
Qatari rider Rashid Ali al-Marri guided his fourth winner this season when he rode Winne Taouy to a dominant victory in the Purebred Arabian Novice Plate.
RESULTS
Race 1: PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (Distance: 1900m)
1. Khatafaynee (Tomas Lukasek), 2. Shaweesh (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 3. Khaldoun (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Umm Bab (Ronan Thomas). Won by: 4 ¾, ½, 2 ¾. Time: 2:14.39. Owner: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.
Race 2: LOCAL THOROUGHBRED MAIDEN PLATE (Distance: 1700m)
1. Dukhan (Luca Maniezzi), 2. Malik (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 3. Qatar Gold (Eduardo Pedroza), 4. Al Mukhadram (Francois Herholdt). Won by: ¾, 5 ½, 4. Time: 1:53.66. Owner: Dhafi Rashid al-Marri. Trainer: Mohamed Hussain.
Race 3: PUREBRED ARABIAN NOVICE PLATE (Distance: 1700m)
1. Winne Taouy (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 2. Muthhil (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 3. Djamil (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Latam (Francois Herholdt). Won by 6 ¼, ¼, ¾. Time: 1:59.56. Owner: Ahmed Hassan al-Malki al-Jehani. Trainer: Hamad Ahmed al-Malki al-Jehani.
Race 4: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Fillies & Mares) (Class 5) (Distance: 1200m)
1. Romantic Heart (Meteb Ali al-Marri), 2. Angelic Queen (Ali Khalid al-Mosallam), 3. Al Hazem Storm (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 4. Queen Shaahd (Marco Casamento). Won by: ¼, 1 ¾, Hd. Time: 1:13.17. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Mohamed Jassim Ghazali.
Race 5: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 3)
1. High Commander (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 2. Yaarmen (Eduardo Pedroza), 3. Suprematism (Carlos Henrique), 4. Tuff Rock (Mickael Berto). Won by: Shd, 3 ¾, 1. Time: 2:03.61. Owner: Mansoor Ebrahim al-Mahmoud. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 6: PUREBRED ARABIAN CLAIMING RACE (4 Year Olds & Older) (Distance: 1800m)
1. Chaval De Ghazal (Marco Casamento), 2. Anees (Eduardo Pedroza), 3. Echo De Faust (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Elwan (Carlos Henrique). Won by: ¾, 5 ¼, 1 ½. Time: 2:09.05. Owner: Mohamed bin Fahad al-Attiyah. Trainer: Mohamed Jassim Ghazali.
Race 7: LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIAN CONDITIONS (Distance: 1200m)
1. Sealine (Ronan Thomas), 2. Barra (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Kasser (Alberto Sanna), 4. Hazm Al Sulaimi (Marco Casamento). Won by: ¼, 1 ¼, 3 ½. Time: 1:18.65. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 8: UMM AL HOUL CUP (Thoroughbreds) (Distance: 1200m)
1. X Force (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Izzthatright (JP Guillambert), 3. Cristofano Allori (Ronan Thomas), 4. Take A Nap (Eduardo Pedroza). Won by: 4, 5, 1 ¼. Time: 1:10.15. Owner: Al Thumama Racing. Trainer: Ibrahim al-Malki.

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