(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
• Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club-sponsored Qatar Goodwood Festival concluded yesterday
The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC)-sponsored Qatar Goodwood Festival came to an end yesterday after five days of action in the United Kingdom.
The final day of the festival belonged to the Sunderland Holdings Inc-owned filly Sea La Rosa (Sea The Stars x Soha Rose), which won the Group 2 Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes.
Trained by William Haggas, whose Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes winner Baaeed (Sea The Stars) stole the show earlier this week, Sea La Rosa proved an excellent winner of the bizarrely-run, £300,000 contest under leading jockey Tom Marquand.
As the seven runners left the stalls, the eventual runner-up, Urban Artist (Cityscape) blitzed clear of the field and was soon over 50m clear of her pursuers. One of the more prominently placed of Urban Artist's six rivals, Sea La Rosa steadily made ground on the leader and eventually took the lead inside the final 200m and went on to win by a length. Urban Artist proved resolute and claimed the runner-up spot, a neck ahead of lightning-finisher Emily Dickinson (Dubawi), who was unsighted in through the early stages.
Now a dual black-type scorer, the well-bred Sea La Rosa has won six of her thirteen lifetime starts and remains entered in both the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks and the Group 1 Irish St.Leger.
Bred by GB Partnership, the four-year-old is out of the Listed winner Soho Rose (Hernando). Soho Rose is also the dam of the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket, Deauville Legend (Sea the Stars) and also the Group 3 Placed Dean Street Doll (Oasis Dream).
Winning jockey Marquand said:“It was a tough one because we know Urban Artist stays very well and yet you never know quite how much a horse in front has left. This filly gives you great confidence on the way round because she travels so strongly and you know she is going to grit it out. It was just a case of trying to pick her up at the right time yet not run her off her legs. When you have one loose on the front end you have to time it so your horse is catching it, but with not enough time for the others to use you as a second wave.”
The Qatar Good Festival was a roaring success. Excellence was there in every single detail, whether in terms of organisation, quality racing and attendance of racegoers throughout the five days.
Qatari excellence was not limited to organisation and sponsorship. As usual, it has been associated with a victory on the highest level with the Khalifa bin Sheail al Kuwari-owned Lady princess landing the Gr1 PA Qatar International Stakes for the second straight year for herself and the fourth year in a row for Qatar, a feat re-confirming Qatar as a world's pioneer in Arabian horse racing.
The QREC delegation was present throughout the days of the festival. The delegation included QREC Chairman Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi, QREC Vice Chairman and Asian Equestrian Federation President Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiya, QREC Board Member and Al Shaqab Executive Director Khalifa bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, QREC Board Members Khalid bin Mohamed al-Ali and Ahmad bin Mohamed Alabdulmalik, QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Rashid al-Kubaisi and Director of QREC Chairman Office and Manager of QREC Marketing Department Hesham Mohamed al-Ali.
Also present on the final day was Fahad bin Hamad al-Sulaiti, CEO of Education Above All Foundation and he presented the trophies to the winners of the fourth and feature race of the day, the Gr2 Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes, presented by Education Above All.
Tom Marquand leads Sea La Rosa to Qatar Lilly Langtry Stakes victory at Qatar Good Festival yesterday. PICTURES: Zuzanna Lupa
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