Smart ward Off He Goes wins the battle of stayers

Ali bin Yousef al-Romaihi, Mubarak bin Yousef al-Romaihi and Fahad bin Yousef al-Romaihi are seen with the winners of The Late Yousef Al Romaihi Cup after Off He Goes won the 3,200m feature at Al Rayyan Park on Thursday. PICTURE: Juhaim

The battle of stayers went right down to the wire as HE Sheikh Iman bint Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Off He Goes ran a determined race to bag The Late Yousef Al Romaihi Cup at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Park on Thursday. The 3,200m feature for Class 2 Thoroughbreds saw familiar rivals — Off He Goes and Umm Qarn’s Duke Of Dundee — set the pace for the entire duration of the race. Tomas Lukasek had Julian Smart-trained Off He Goes pick up the pace coming off the final bend and Ronan Thomas followed suit astride Alban de Mieulle’s ward Duke Of Dundee. However, the latter, who had finished three lengths behind the seven-year-old gelding last time round in a 2,800m affair, closed the gap yesterday but still fell short by half-a-length at the post. Ivan Rossi egged Quelindo on at the top of the straight, but could never get into the game as Off He Goes won for the third time this season from four starts. Frenchman Soufiane Saadi rode three winners yesterday, including Umm Qarn’s Abida, Abdulatif Hussain al-Emadi’s Sky Blue and Jassim bin Ali al-Attiyah’s US Cliff. In the nine-race card’s first event yesterday, Umm Qarn’s Abida raced to her second straight victory under Saadi as the De Mieulle-saddled mare topped the Local Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate over 2,000m. Saadi was astride a winner in another 2,000m affair, when Sky Blue eased past the post in the Local Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 70-90. Bader al-Balushi’s ward had impressed in all but one of his starts this term, finishing in the money six out of seven outings. In the eighth race this season, the five-year-old gelding won by two lengths in front of Meteb Ali al-Marri-ridden Aafreen. In the penultimate race of the day, Jassim Ghazali-schooled US Cliff stepped up big in distance running the 2,000m Thoroughbred Plate for three-year-olds, the colt’s longest run so far. However, a winner over 1,300m on dirt at Al Uqda Equestrian Complex two weeks ago, US Cliff had little trouble with the change in conditions as Saadi guided the bay son of Footstepsinthesand to a half-a-length victory. Earlier in the day, Anas al-Seyabi and Alberto Sanna rode a maiden winner each with the former riding Ibrahim al-Malki-schooled Watnah Al Sakab on the filly’s smashing winning debut in the Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate. The Al Sakab Stud filly beat the field in the six-furlong sprint by an impressive five lengths. Sanna was astride Ali Yousuf al-Kubaisi-saddled Hadjira De Flauzins in the other Arabian maiden race for four-to-six-year-old contenders around the same distance. Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s filly finally entered the winner’s enclosure on her seventh start after missing out on a victory on at least four previous occasions. The win was first of the two for the Italian jockey as he was astride the winner once again half-an-hour later, this time in the colours of Abdulhadi Mana al-Hajri. Sanna rode Stefano Ibido’s ward Jimmy Sparks to an exciting victory in the Thoroughbred Plate event for three-year-olds, edging out his rivals by a quarter-of-a-length. For al-Kubaisi, Hadjira De Flauzins was his second winner yesterday, having earlier saddled Injaaz Stud’s Pom Malpic, the promising runner-up from the high-quality Al Biddah Mile (QA Group 2) almost a month ago, to half-a-length victory in a 1,500m novice event for Thoroughbreds. RESULTS Race 1: LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIAN NOVICE PLATE (Far Bend) (Distance: 2,000m) 1. Abida (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Dalilak (Khalid al-Balushi), 3. Valentina (Alberto Sanna), 4. Alf Lyla (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: 1, ¼, 1 ¾. Time: 2:16.69. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle. Race 2: THOROUGHBRED NOVICE PLATE (Class 6) (Far Bend) (Distance: 1,500m) 1. Pom Malpic (Marco Casamento), 2. Cruella Dovil (Anas al-Seyabi), 3. Courageux (Alberto Sanna), 4. Main Reef (Faleh Bughanaim). Won by: ½, ¾, ½. Time: 1:31.54. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Ali Yousuf al-Kubaisi. Race 3: PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (3 Year Olds) (Far Bend) (Distance: 1,200m) 1. Watnah Al Sakab (Anas al-Seyabi), 2. AJS Saeeq (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Zood (Meteb Ali al-Marri), 4. Al Maronah Al Sakab (Qais al-Busaidi). Won by: 5, 10 ½, 2 ¾. Time: 1:23.92. Owner: Al Sakab Stud. Trainer: Ibrahim al-Malki. Race 4: PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (Far Bend) (4-6-year-old) (Distance 1,200m) 1. Hadjira De Flauzins (Alberto Sanna), 2. HM Al Bourak (Tomas Lukasek), 3. Tamih (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Guyloud De Carrere (Meteb Ali al-Marri). Won by: 2, 4, 2 ½. Time: 1:19.90. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Ali Yousuf al-Kubaisi. Race 5: THOROUGHBRED PLATE (3 Year Olds) (Class 3) (Far Bend) (Distance: 1,200m) 1. Jimmy Sparks (Alberto Sanna), 2. Lauded (Anas al-Seyabi), 3. Vedute (Ivan Rossi), 4. Nastase (Ronan Thomas). Won by: ¼, 1 ¼, 3. Time: 1:12.41. Owner: Abdulhadi Mana al-Hajri. Trainer: Stefano Ibido. Race 6: LOCAL THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Far Bend) (70-90) (Distance: 2,000m) 1. Sky Blue (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Aafreen (Meteb Ali al-Marri), 3. Abha (Faleh Bughanaim), 4. Mater (Ronan Thomas). Won by: 2, ¼, ¾. Time: 2:08.11. Owner: Abdulatif Hussain al-Emadi. Trainer: Bader al-Balushi. Race 7: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 3) (Far Bend) (70-90) (Distance: 2,000m) 1. Bottom Bay (Khalid al-Balushi), 2. She’s Our Queen (Ivan Rossi), 3. Burano Boy (Soufiane Saadi), 4. More Than A Dream (Carlos Henrique). Won by: ½, ½, NK. Time: 2:03.79. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Zuhair Mohsen. Race 8: THOROUGHBRED PLATE (3 Year Olds) (Class 2) (Far Bend) (Distance: 2,000m) 1. US Cliff (Soufiane Saadi), 2. William Bligh (Alberto Sanna), 3. Risque (Ivan Rossi), 4. Mahthouf (JP Guillambert). Won by: ½, 4 ½, Hd. Time: 2:06.09. Owner: Jassim bin Ali al-Attiyah. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali. Race 9: THE LATE YOUSEF AL ROMAIHI CUP (Far Bend) (Class 2 THOROUGHBREDS) (Distance: 3,200m) 1. Off He Goes (Tomas Lukasek), 2. Duke Of Dundee (Ronan Thomas), 3. Quelindo (Ivan Rossi), 4. Masterpiece (Marco Casamento). Won by: ½, 5, 1 ¼. Time: 3:30.26. Owner: HE Sheikha Iman bint Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.