Horse Racing: Hunting Tartan Wins Umm Al Houl Cup

Doha, February 17 (QNA) - Hunting Tartan, trained by Jassim Al Ghazali and astutely ridden by jockey Stephen Ladjadj, won the Umm Al Houl Cup during the 31st race meeting at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (REC). There were 15 runners in the fray on Thursday for the 1,400-metre Thoroughbred Stakes contest QR 80,000 prize money. Hunting Tartan, five-year-old, has been consistent on the New Rayyan track and this was his seventh victory in 12 starts. The race wore an open look with horses' respective trainers keeping their hopes of winning. As the horses left the starting gates, it was Captain Coke that did the early running to hold the leader's spot. But as the contest entered the final furlong, it was Hunting Tartan that gained the initiative to find the winning post with a fine effort in a time of one minute and 25.33 seconds. Al Muthanaa also came up with a good run towards the end but that speed was not enough to topple the front runners and settled for a third place. Speaking after the races, trainer Al Ghazali expressed happiness over his trainee s form and success. He also praised Ladjadj's riding skills. "Hunting Tartan is a nice horse and I am happy with this Cup victory. I also wanted to give Ladjadj a winning mount as he needs to get his confidence back. He rode a brilliant race on Hunting Tartan," the trainer said. Frenchman Ladjadj has had a fine appearance in the Indian circuit with 80 victories but his winless streak ended with this fine effort. "I have been waiting quite long to get one winner and I am glad that it came today. It was nice on the part of trainer Jassim to give me this opportunity. Hunting Tartan is the best miler here but it was not that easy to win," opined Ladjadj. In the Thoroughbred Handicap race for horses rated 60 to 80, Flying Lady had to fight it hard to take victory. The Mohammed Khalid s trainee, did well in the hands of jockey Pier Convertino. Crystal Highness posed a strong challenge to Flying Lady but the latter had enough energy to go on and take the top spot in a time of two minutes and 03.10 seconds. Lost Cause was also in the reckoning for some time but ended third. The Thoroughbred Handicap contest for horses rated between 50 and 70, produced an exciting end. Alban de Mieulle schooled Nasr pipped Striking The Wind in the 1,600-metre race. Ladjadj-jockeyed Striking The Wind was emerging like a winner before Gerard Avranche and Nasr unleashed an aggressive run to win by a neck. Vesuvio was third after being in the reckoning. The day also saw a winning debut for George Mikhalides nurtured Al Mizan (Vet Duzan-Nevada De Cardonne). Al Mizan won the Local Bred Pure Arabian Maiden Plate in fine fashion from Shakeemah. Darren Williams rode the winner. Williams made Al Mizan follow Tawash closely into the homestretch before the former took control of the contest with still 350 metres to be left for the finish line. Al Mizan moved ahead with a smooth run and won with ease after a late comeback by Shakeemah. Al Mizan looks a good type of horse and should be watched about his progress. Jockey Williams had a double for the day when he partnered Hareq, trained by Julian Smart, to a convincing victory in the Pure Arabian Handicap for Fillies and Mares (rated 35 to 60). Dutch jockey Adrie de Vries' brilliant ride was the key to Zohair Moghsen trained Sarmad to stave off the challenge of Mansour in the Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate. It was Sarmad's first win in five tries. Liam Jones-driven Mansour pushed Sarmad hard but De Vries was ready for the challenge as he steered the Moghsen's horse to the winning post in top position. In the Pure Arabian Handicap race for horses rated 0 to 40, Jabor Al Ramzani nurtured Casman won. Samhan, trained by Mohammed Al Sulaiti, embarked on a start-to-finish journey but could not continue till the end. Casman came up with a fine run from the outside to win by a narrow margin. It was Hassan Al Naimi's perseverance paid off on the saddle. It was the second win in 25 runs. This contest was open only to Qatari jockeys and apprentices. (QNA)