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| Staff Writer |
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The Al Rayyan Racecourse at QREC hosted a turf race meeting on 28th March. The last and most important race of the day was the Al Britha Cup, a 1500m Gr.4 Graduation Plate for 3YO Local Thoroughbred.
Wadi Bu Thaila won the race by ten lengths, marking his second straight win on his third career start. The trio of owner Wathnan Racing, trainer Alban de Mieulle, and jockey Soufiane Saadi also won the day's opener and finale.
Madinat Bu Thaila finished second, while Bint Al Hareth finished third. QREC Racing Manager, Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi, presented the trophies to the winners.
In the first race of the meeting, Soufiane Saadi rode Arman, trained by Alban de Mieulle, to victory. The 4YO grey colt, owned by Wathnan Racing, won the 1500m Gr.6 Maiden Plate for 4 to 6YOs Local Purebred Arabians by eight and a half lengths. Arman had previously finished third and fourth in his two previous starts and finally broke his duck this time.
AJS Monya, owned and bred by Al Jeryan Stud and trained by M.H.K Al Attiyah, made a nice debut in the 1400m Gr.6 Maiden Plate for 3YO Purebred Arabians, winning comfortably by two and a half lengths with jockey Mohammed Tabti in the saddle.
Hemian, a 4YO grey filly owned and bred by Al Shaqab Racing and trained by Jean de Mieulle, won the 1750m Gr.5 Novice Plate for 4YO and older Purebred Arabians. Jockey Faleh Bughanaim produced a scintillating run up in the final stages to take the race by half a length.
Glengarra, owned by Al Thumama Racing and trained by Saleh Naji SH A Al Yafei, won the 1750m Gr.4 Thoroughbred Handicap for 3YOs and older rated 60-80. Jockey Saleh Faraj Al-Otaibi held off the charge of his two close challengers and chasers by a neck and a head respectively. Al Mehrab, owned by Ibrahim Mohammed M I Al-Fadala and trained by Hamad Al-Jehani, finished second, while Al Kharaitiyat, owned by Khalid Rashid Al Mohannadi and trained by Rashid Al Jehani, finished third.
Gold Fleece, owned by Nasser Saeed Al Eida and trained by Gassim Ghazali, won the 2350m Gr.3 Thoroughbred Handicap for 4YO and older rated 70-90. Jockey Louis Nomis led the 8YO bay mare to victory by three lengths clear in the final stages.
Ilasad, a 5YO chestnut horse owned and bred by Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Abdulla Al-Attiya and trained by Ahmed Kobeissi, won the Group Two Handicap for 4YO and older Purebred Arabians rated 80-100. Jockey Faleh Bughanaim steered Ilasad to victory by a length, as the horse seemed to appreciate the drop to 1200m and ran on strongly close home.