Sandbetweenourtoes owner Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari (left) receives a trophy from Sheikh Falah bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani after the six-year-old gelding won the Al Wajba Cup at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) yesterday. RIGHT: (From left) HE Sheikh Falah bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani, QREC chairman HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Faleh al-Thani, Qatar Equestrian Federation president and QREC vice chairman Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, and QREC general manager Nasser Sherida al-Kaabi at the races yesterday. PICTURES: Juhaim

By Sports Reporter/Doha


Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s Sandbetweenourtoes made a winning debut on the dirt track at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club this season picking up victory in the Al Wajba Cup, a Thoroughbred Conditions event, yesterday.
Jassim al-Ghazali’s charge, ridden by Gerald Avranche, led the 12-horse feature race from pillar to post over 1100m, a distance right in his comfort zone.
Sired by Footstepsinthesand, the six-year-old gelding had never finished outside the top three in his last 13 outings, most of them six-furlong races.
Even as Avranche moved ahead with his ride, jockey Yanis Aouabed had Go For Broke track the leader, while Stephan Ladjadj, riding Collect Art out of Gate 2, took the inside line throughout. Victory Laurel, with Pier Convertino at the helm, first found himself in the thick of things as all the horses started moving in towards the rail, before he moved on the outside going into the bend.
Sandbetweenourtoes built up a lead coming on to the home straight, and with a furlong to go, Collect Art and Victory Laurel overwhelmed Go For Broke. Eventually, Victory Laurel, owned by Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki, finished in second place ahead of al-Ghazali’s Collect Art.
It took Ras Al Qimmah five runs this season for a victory. The mare, owned by al-Kuwari and trained by Mohamed Jassim Ghazali, had two second-place finishes and a third place finish this season, before Tadgh O’Shea rode the five-year-old to a victory in the Purebred Arabian Handicap event for horses rated 70 and below yesterday.
Osama Omar al-Dhafea’s Shmoos and Umm Qarn’s Taima completed the top three.
Fahad bin Mubarak bin Jassim al-Groon’s Babe shed her maiden status in the opening race of the card yesterday, winning on her 15th career outing. Aouabed rode her to victory ahead of Rashid Antar al-Marri’s Ostorah Dukhan and Hassan al-Matwi’s Hanoof Al Jazeera.
Amer colt Aaley Al Magam made a winning career debut yesterday when Richard Mullen, riding in the colours of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani, rode Julian Smart’s charge to a victory ahead of Maryam bint Sheail al-Kuwari’s Lina Al Mels and Al Jasra Stud’s Derzkiy in the Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate event.
The trainer-jockey duo of Jassim al-Ghazali and Stephan Ladjadj picked up two Thoroughbred Handicap victories yesterday with Trillian Astra and Protect.
Khalid Yahya al-Khusaai’s Trillian Astra won her first race in the Class 6 event for horse rated 65 and below, ahead of Mubarak Abdulla M B al-Moadhi’s Rijm and Abdullah Mohammed Al Kuwari Sons’ Awattan.
Hamad bin Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah’s Protect halted her run of three second-place finishes this season winning the Class 5 nine furlong event ahead of Al Majd Stud’s Cappuccino Delight and Count Curlin.
Dutch jockey Adrie de Vries rode Al Wasmiya to victory in the Local Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 70 and below, with Mishal bin Ali al-Attiyah’s Gaza VI finishing second half a length behind, and Abdulatif Hussain al-Emadi’s Daleem in third.

RESULTS
Race 1: 1. Babe (Yanis Aouabed), 2. Ostorah Dukhan (Pier Convertino), 3. Hanoof Al Jazeera (Cedric Segeon), 4. Istishaara (Stephan Ladjadj). Won by: Nk, 0.75, 4. Owner: Fahad bin Mubarak bin Jassim al-Groon. Trainer: Fahad bin Mubarak al-Groon.
Race 2: 1. Aaley Al Magam (Richard Mullen), 2. Lina Al Mels (Tadgh O’Shea), 3. Derzkiy (Gerald Avranche), 4. Bonnaparte (Pier Convertino). Won by: 3, 3.5, 3.5. Owner: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.
Race 3: 1. Trillian Astra (Stephan Ladjadj), 2. Rijm (Adrie de Vries), 3. Awattan (JP Guillambert), 4. Buy Art (Tadgh O’Shea). Won by: 0.5, Shd, 1.5. Owner: Khalid Yahya al-Khusaai. Trainer: Jassim al-Ghazali.
Race 4: 1. Ras Al Qimmah (Tadgh O’Shea), 2. Shmoos (Cedric Segeon), 3. Taima (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Sand Piper (Evert Pheiffer). Won by: 2, 1.25, 2. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Mohammed Jassim Ghazali.
Race 5: 1. Al Wasmiya (Adrie de Vries), 2. Gaza VI (JP Guillambert), 3. Daleem (Stephan Ladjadj), 4. Al Moheeb (Richard Mullen). Won by: 0.5, 0.75, 4. Owner: Al Wasmiyah Farm. Trainer: M. al-Attiyah.
Race 6: 1. Protect (Stephan Ladjadj), 2. Cappuccino Delight (Tadgh O’Shea), 3. Count Curlin (Richard Mullen), 4. King of Doha (Darren Williams). Won by: 0.5, 0.5, Hd. Owner: Hamad bin Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah. Trainer: Jassim al-Ghazali.
Race 7: 1. Sandbetweenourtoes (Gerald Avranche), 2. Victory Laurel (Pier Convertino), 3. Collect Art (Stephan Ladjadj), 4. Disco Inferno (JP Guillambert). Won by: 2, 0.5, 0.5. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim al-Ghazali.