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On yesterday's last day of the H H the Amir Sword Festival 2024 at the Al Rayyan Racecourse, Al Ghadeer of Al Shaqab Racing sealed the Doha Triple Crown by thrillingly winning the coveted H H H the Amir Sword title.
The 5YO, trained by jockey Christophe Soumillon, completed a stunning triumph for trainer Francois Rohaut by outpacing Abbes by a length in the last 300 metres of the $2.5 million Purebred Arabians (Gr1) race. In the day's previous feature, Al Doha came in third.
Al Ghadeer, who finished first and second in the Qatar International Stakes at Goodwood and the Qatar Arabian World Cup at Paris Longchamp, becoming the second horse to win the Doha Triple Crown following Ebraz's victory in 2020.
"It is a dream come true to win the triple crown. It was his first run in a long time, and I am very happy with the win," the victorious jockey Soumillon said.
The coveted H H Golden Sword and the Doha Triple Crown were given to H E Sheikh Hamad bin Joaan Al Thani by H H the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. In attendance were H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, Chairman of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC).
On the exciting day that included eight races, H.H. the Amir also presented awards to the winners of the H.H. The Amir Trophy, H.H. the Amir Silver Sword, and H.H. the Amir Shalfa.
In the meantime, Rebel's Romance, owned by Godolphin, was winning, landing at 2400m H. William Buick, the jockey, is positioned to win by three lengths in the $2.5 million Amir Trophy Thoroughbreds.
Molfit and Christophe Soumillon cross the finish line first to take home the H. H. The Amir Silver Sword.
"I am absolutely delighted to win here at the big festival. It was a tough race with some of the good horses from Japan. I managed to get things my own way, and he enjoyed it. When he got to the front, he wasn't going to get caught. He was very good and really showed up; it was a great result for everyone," Buick said after the win.
Molfit, owned by Mohammed bin Fahad A H Al Attiya, won the 1850m Purebred Arabians race by half a length to claim the H H The Amir Silver Sword title. This was trainer Rohaut's and jockey Christophe's first victory of the day.
H H was in a thrilling Thoroughbred Open Handicap event. The winner of the exciting 2000-meter race was Amir Shalfa Abdulatif Hussain M Z Al Emadi-owned Pazeer, who beat Coco Jack by just a quarter of a length. The horse trained by Bader Al Balushi, who recovered the title following the 2018 victory, was ridden by Lukas Delozier.
Oddyssey, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Salman M Al-Thani and trained by Maxime Guyon, continued her winning ways at the Al Rayyan Mile Thoroughbreds, winning the QA Gr2 race by two lengths to earn the title for trainer Gassim Ghazali.
The QA Gr.3 Dukhan Sprint was also a close race yesterday, with jockey Saffie Osborne riding Emaraaty Ana, trained by Jamie Osborne, winning by a head over Monsieur Noir (G.B.), whom Alban de Mieulle trained.
In the Group One Qatar International Cup for Purebred Arabians, Al Jeryan Stud's AJS Jamran, ridden by Szczepan Mazur, triumphed handily, winning by a margin of two and a half lengths for trainer MHK Al Attiyah.
H.H. The Amir Trophy winners are William Buick and Rebel's Romance.
Trainer Archie Watson triumphed with Brave Emperor of Middleham Park Racing LX, who defeated Cairo by a mere quarter of a length in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup, the first event. In the 1600-meter race, Luke Morris rode to victory.
Many fans attended the excellent activity during the three days of the famous festival organised by the QREC, which proved to be a great success.
Apart from the Qatar-trained contenders, an unprecedented number of internationals entered the lucrative $10 million festival, which featured 26 high-profile races.