By Sports Reporter/Doha


Hassan Ali Abdulmalik’s Ponfeigh picked up his second straight Class 1 victory in a month when Darren Williams rode Debbie Mountain-schooled colt to a thrilling victory in the HH Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy, the feature race of yesterday’s seven-race card.
The four-year-old grey son of Teofilo opened his campaign this season when he was ridden to victory by the English jockey in the Class 1 Barzan Cup on November 17.
Yesterday, Williams bided his time till the action in the 1 million riyal race reached the final two furlongs, and then had Ponfeigh pick up speed to edge out Umm Qarn’s Quatorze for a fine victory.
Gaetan Faucon made good use of a Gate 1 start taking early lead with Alban de Mieulle’s charge and holding on till Ponfeigh started galloping in the latter stages of the race.
Marvin Suerland, riding Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani’s Amico Mio off Gate 16, came in from wide and settled behind Quatorze, even as Ponfeigh was in the crowd.
On the final bend, with the home stretch approaching, Ponfeigh waded through traffic to move ahead and Williams got his ride to make a move with 400m to go.
Yousef Bentaher-trained Amico Mio finished third.
This was jockey Williams’ second win of the day, having won the card opener, a Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate event, with Essa Mohamed al-Sulaiti’s Moddhish.
After coming close to a victory on four previous occasions, the Amer colt finally shed his maiden status, winning ahead of Jassim al-Ghazali-trained Wejdan and Hassan al-Matwi’s Umm Al Nar.
The Umm Qarn trainer-jockey duo of De Mieulle and Faucon picked up two wins with Farah shedding her maiden status on her second outing, with a three-and-a-half-length victory over Barrelaman in the Local Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate, and five-year-old bay mare Muhjah racing to her third win in as many races this season in the Local Purebred Arabian Conditions event.
Italian jockey Pier Convertino rode Rashid Mubarak Aljafali al-Naimi’s Lesha to his second victory this season. Both of the colt’s wins this season have come in Class 3 Thoroughbred Handicap events, while he finished second behind Jumaira Tower in the Al Wakra Cup on November 19.
Also shedding his maiden status was Silent Thunder, who was raced to victory by jockey Cedric Segeon, ahead of Hussain Ali Bukanan’s Crisscrossed and Abdulla Mubarak Aljafali al-Naimi’s Qat Flyer.
Al Wasmiyah Farm’s Battash picked up victory in the Local Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 65-90. Adrie de Vries rode the four-year-old bay colt to a victory ahead of Al Mansoor, owned by Mishal bin Ali al-Attiyah and trained by Jassim al-Ghazali, in the four-horse event.

RESULTS
Race 1: 1. Moddhish (Darren Williams), 2. Wejdan (JP Guillambert), 3. Umm Al Nar (Marco Monteriso), 4. Assil Al Shajaa (Evert Pheiffer). Won by: Nk, 2.5, Shd. Owner: Essa Mohammed al-Sulaiti. Trainer: M. al-Sulaiti.
Race 2: 1. Farah (Gaetan Faucon), 2. Barrelaman (Pier Convertino), 3. Reda (Richard Mullen), 4. Dijlah (Tadgh O’Shea). Won by: 3.5, 0.75, 0.5. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 3: 1. Silent Thunder (Cedric Segeon), 2. Crisscrossed (Ali al-Showeikh), 3. Qat Flyer (Pier Convertino), 4. Franchisco (Marco Monteriso). Won by: Nk, 1.5, 1.25. Owner: Osama Omar al-Dhafea. Trainer: O. al-Dhafa.
Race 4: 1. Lesha (Pier Convertino), 2. Erroneous (JP Guillambert), 3. Jumaira Tower (Adrie de Vries), 4. Charlie’s Wish (Marco Monteriso). Won by: 0.75, Hd, 0.5. Owner: Rashid Mubarak Aljafali al-Naimi. Trainer: Majed Seifeddine.
Race 5: 1. Battash (Adrie de Vries), 2. Al Mansoor (Richard Mullen), 3. Mutawassal (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Amirat Al Qaloob (Jaures Marcialis). Won by: 0.75, Nk, 5. Owner: Al Wasmiyah Farm. Trainer: M. al-Attiyah.
Race 6: 1. Muhjah (Gaetan Faucon), 2. Mekhbatt (Pier Convertino), 3. La Hoor (Marco Monteriso), 4. Mujidd (Jean Baptiste Hamel). Won by: Hd, Shd, Shd. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 7: 1. Ponfeigh (Darren Williams), 2. Quatorze (Gaetan Faucon), 3. Amico Mio (Marvin Suerland), 4. Roman Legend (Gerald Avranche). Won by: 0.75, 1.25, 1.5. Owner: Hassan Ali Abdulmalik. Trainer: Debbie Mountain.