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| Staff Writer |
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Al Dafnah demonstrated her class with a taking victory on debut in the Local Thoroughbred Guineas at Al Uqda, spearheading a day of quality racing across five competitive contests on Saturday.
The Jean de Mieulle-trained filly, a daughter of Ectot, swept past her rivals in the final 200m under a perfectly timed ride from Faleh Bughanaim to land the 1400m contest for three-year-olds by half a length.
Wadi Bu Thaila, representing Wathnan Racing, secured second under James Doyle for trainer Alban de Mieulle. The Expert Eye colt, already a dual winner from four starts, finished ahead of stablemate and debutant War Boy, who took third under Soufiane Saadi.
Previous winners of this prestigious contest include Desert Force, who went on to land multiple Group Three races, and Methaal, successful in the Gr.1 Qatar Derby.
The outstanding Taxiwala continued his winning streak with an emphatic return to action in the Thoroughbred Open Race. The Osama Omer E Al-Dafea-trained 7YO, partnered by Bughanaim, powered clear for a comfortable one-and-a-half length success over Prodigious Blue, with Monsieur Noir a neck away in third.
Alberto Sanna enjoyed a memorable afternoon, completing a treble aboard Pearling Path, Tareq, and Gulf Legend.
The Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki-trained Pearling Path proved strongest in the Thoroughbred Handicap, while Al Rufaa Racing's Tareq battled gamely to land the Purebred Arabian Novice Plate under Gassim Ghazali's preparation.
Sanna's third winner came courtesy of Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Rashid A M Al-Thani's Gulf Legend, who broke his maiden over 2100m in the opener.
QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi was on hand to present trophies to the successful connections throughout an entertaining afternoon's racing.