100th Edition of Qatar Prix de Triomphe Arch Concludes

Paris, October 04 (QNA) - The 100th edition of the Qatar Prix De LArc De Triomphe concluded Sunday at Paris Longchamp, in the presence of HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and HRH Princess Anne, the guest of honor. The event is held under Qatari sponsorship through cooperation between the Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) and France Galop - the authority responsible for horse racing in France. It was a fitting finale with Qatari victories on the final day as HE Sheikha Reem Bint Mohamed bin Khalifa Al-Thani owned Hoggar De L'ardus won the Qatar Arabian World Cup and earlier on the day Ali bin Hamad Al Attiya's Zellie won the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (Gr.1) In second place came the mare Lady Princess owned by Khalifa bin Shuail Al Kuwari and led by Oshin Murphy and the third place was horse Tayf owned by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani and led by Olivier Pellet in a wonderful Qatari trilogy in which the Qatari horses completely dominated the first three places so that Hoggar De lArdus was able to return the World Cup to Al Sheehaniya after the horse Ibraaz won it in 2019 then the horse Tayf took it last year to continue the Qatari domination at the top of the purebred Arabian horse races in the world. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani handed over the World Cup for Arabian Horses to HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Thani in a magnificent coronation ceremony which witnessed the playing of the Qatari national anthem. However, it was Torquator Tassos victory in France's most iconic race that was one of the biggest shocks in its history. Trained in Germany by Marcel Weiss, the four-year-old was one of the outsiders of the field only beaten by three quarters of a length in the 2020 German Derby by last years Arc second In Swoop (Alderflug), Torquator Tasso produced a career best to win under an excellent ride from jockey Rene Piechulek. Drawn wide, Torquator Tasso slotted into mid-division of the field travelling three-wide, the colt always looked comfortable as Adayar (Frankel) cut out the early running with little change to the order and a relatively steady pace being set, the field was tightly grouped. Favourite Tarnawa (Shamardal) travelled well but was boxed in against the rail. On entering the home straight, Torquator Tasso took closer order on the outside and was ridden confidently Adayar stole a couple of lengths on the field 400m from home but was chased hard by Hurricane Lane (Frankel), Torquator Tasso and also, Tarnawa staying on strongly, Torquator Tasso swept over the top in the closing stages and got up to win by three quarters of a length from Tarnawa Hurricane lane finished third, while early leader Adayar took fourth. And amid great Qatari joy Ali Hamad al Attiya owned filly Zellie (Wotton Bassett x Sarai) took the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac - Criterium Des Pouliches (Group 1). Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club's Chairman Issa bin Mohamed al Mohannadi. trained by Andre Fabre and ridden for the first time by Irish-born jockey Oisin Murphy, Zellie was having her sixth career. A winner of her first three races, where she carried the colours of Ms. Lavinia Fabre, Zellie was then purchased by her current owner before going on to finish second in a pair of Group Three races. In second place came the skilled Times Square owned by Alan Belshaw under the supervision of coach Christophe Verlon and led by Christian Demeuro and third with an additional difference of 3 lengths Oscola owned by Nick Bradley Racing under the supervision of coach George Boge and led by Ryan Moore. The Marc Chan-owned colt Angel Bleu (Dark Angel x Cercle De La Vie) prevailed with a strong determined run to win the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere - Grand Criterium (Group 1) QREC Vice Chairman and President of the Asian and the Qatar Equestrian Federations Hamad bin Abdulrahman al Attiya presented the trophies to the winners. Haras de la Gousseries Rougir (Territories x Summer Moon) secured a well-deserved top-flight success when landing the Prix de lOpera Longines (Group 1). Trained by Cedric Rossi and ridden by Maxime Guyon, Rougir finished third in last seasons Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (Group 1) this was a first Group 1 success for her trainer Cedric Rossi Matthieu Baumgartner, Vice Chairman of Longines presented the trophies to the winners. The British-trained Space Blues, representing the Godolphin silks, flew to a convincing win in the Qatar Prix de la Fort. the five-year-old, who trained by Charlie Appleby, floored his rivals in the final stages of this Group 1 prize in what has been incredible weekend of racing at ParisLongchamp QREC Acting CEO Bader Mohamed al Darwish presented the trophies to the winners. Gary Devlin-owned A Case Of You (Hot Streak x Karjera) prevailed in the Qatar Prix de lAbbaye (Gr.1) Irish trainer Ado McGuinness was landing his first Group 1 success, along with A Case Of Yous owner Gary Devlin the four-year-old was given an excellent ride by his jockey Ronan Whelan. The race events for this year were distinguished in every sense of the word as it is the 100th edition in the history of the ancient race which makes winning any of its runs a historic event in itself and a record number calculated for all winners including horses, owners, trainers and riders, and there is no doubt that everyone From now on will look forward to achieving a similar achievement in the first edition of the great global race in its second centenary which begins next year in conjunction with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. (QNA)