Going into the million dollar finale of three-day HH The Emir’s Sword Festival, Julian Smart’s wards, 10 of them, had only managed two second and two third places.
The trainer more than made up for an “awful” weekend with Gazwan, owned by HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani, winning the all-important HH The Emir’s Sword (Gr1 PA), sponsored by Total, yesterday, ahead of stablemate Assy, while Al Shaqab Racing’s Al Mourtajez, trained by Thomas Fourcy, was edged out to third.
Also, Jassim Ghazali scored big on the final day of HH The Emir’s Sword Festival with five wins, including the million dollar HH The Emir’s Trophy, a Group 1 race for three-year-olds and older thoroughbreds, presented by Longines.
On the draw day, ahead of the three-day meeting, Smart had told Gulf Times that while the 2014 winner Assy and Gazwan were out to win the big race, Al Majh’hoor was in the race as part of a plan.
The plan, as it unfolded yesterday, was to “take the sting out of Al Mourtajez’s pace”. Jockey Marco Monteriso kept Al Majh’hoor alongside Julien Auge’s ride Al Mourtajez for the bulk of the race, pushing up the pace, while Assy and Gazwan had a more restrained run. Job done, Al Majh’hoor fell back, leaving it to Assy on the final straight, and as the two former winners jostled, Gazwan, under Richard Mullen, went past both of them to pick up a thrilling win.
“Winning the Emir’s Sword is the biggest prize in Qatar, and that makes everything good,” Smart said after the win.
“I can’t say enough about Al Mourtajez, he is a very, very good horse. To go that speed and still be fighting at the finish with us says something about his quality.
“Assy hasn’t been beaten by far. But that’s the kind of race Gazwan has always needed, one with a strong pace. And he will gallop all day long. He was unlucky in France last year, he was a juvenile but has matured over the winter.
“It is just a shame that all the good races in Europe are a mile and quarter, because I would like a mile and a half. Take nothing away from Assy, you would probably see him in Europe in summer. Looks like we have got him at his best too.”
Al Shaqab camp was palpably disappointed.
“It was difficult. Sort of spoiling tactics from the winning team. Al Mourtajez likes to be ridden from the front, obviously they know that. So they kept taking him on. It just took the rhythm out of the race, and they just went too quick,” said Al Shaqab racing adviser Harry Herbert. “Anyway, it is what it is. It was a terrific race, take nothing away from the winner, who was restrained, and at a sensible pace. Thomas (Fourcy) is very disappointed.”
Asked about the future for Al Mourtajez, Herbert said, “He would possibly be looking at Goodwood, the Arc day is still the ultimate target, and it’s not going to be overdoing between now and then.”
Earlier, three of Ghazali’s wins came for Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari, while jockey Harry Bentley guided three of the five winners for the champion trainer, including The Blue Eye for the big one.
In the mile and a half race, sponsored by Longines, Bentley and The Blue Eye, starting from Gate 1, settled behind early leaders Fort Moville and Peter Anders. On to the final stretch, Bentley had the Dubawi colt move outwards and put on display his blistering pace to move clear of the competition.
Moroccan-bred Billabong edged out Ahmed Kobeissi-trained Fort Moville for the second spot.
“I know that HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is coming and I wanted my horses to perform at their highest levels. And thankfully they did,” Ghazali said after the win.
“This is my day, I have said this before that I will win big on the big day… Nobody can take it from me.”
Many expected an international raider to pick up the big win, especially after Tannaaf and Rogue Runner, from South Africa and Germany respectively, owned the Qatar Derby a couple of weeks ago.


^{Trainer Jassim Ghazali celebrates the win of The Blue Eye with HH the
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday.}

“Believe me, it is not easy to win such a big race anyway. And then when you make it an open race with international competition coming in, it just makes the task that much harder. But my God was with me. It is just an amazing day for me today,” Ghazali said.
Bentley said, like Ghazali’s champion horse Dubday, which the British jockey had guided to victories in the Qatar Gold Cup and the Qatar Derby two years ago, The Blue Eye is destined for bigger things.
“The last few years, I had missed out on the win in this race but now to finally do that, win such a prestigious race on a horse like The Blue Eye, it is just fantastic,” Bentley said.
Earlier in the day, the owner-trainer-jockey trio of al-Kuwari, Ghazali and Bentley also won the Al Hazm-sponsored HH The Emir’s Silver Sword, an 1850m race for four-year-old Pure Arabians, with Spaghetti.
After shedding his maiden status in his last race two months ago, Spaghetti went past half the field in the final 200 metres to pick up a win over another Ghazali charge Civaldi de Montegut.
Ghazali’s Opera Baron won for the first time on the turf at the QREC, when he edged out the fast approaching Flying Empress to win the NBK-sponsored Al Biddah Mile, a Group 2 race for three-year-olds.
Ghazali-Bentley combine also won the Class 1 HH The Emir’s Shalfa, sponsored by Al Qamra, with Go Dan Go. Bentley, riding in the colours of Dr Fahad bin Abdullah al-Attiyah & Son, kept Go Dan Go right behind early leader Clean Bowled before making a move around 300m from the post. Magnolia Beach picked up pace too to transform it into a thrilling two-horse race.
Go Dan Go, who had last won a race in December 2015, eventually picked up his second win this season.
Injaaz Stud’s Izzthatright, a Ghazali charge, beat two-time winner Roi De Vitesse, in the Katara Sprint Cup, a Class 1 race sponsored by Attheraces. Marco Botti-schooled Golden Steps, ridden by Frankie Dettori, finished third behind Roi De Vitesse.
Al Shaqab, trainer Fourcy and jockey Auge emerged victorious in the Qatar International Cup (Gr1 PA), sponsored by Al Faisal Holding, for the second straight year.
Following up in Mister Ginoux’s footsteps was Aba’ath, who picked up a comfortable seven-length victory over  Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan’s Thakif. Amer colt, Gidwa, trained by Smart, rounded up the top three.
Footstepsinthesand colts, Moaddie and Footprintinthesand, swept the Al Rayyan Breeders Cup, the first of the eight-race card, with Alban de Mieulle-trained Mutawassal finishing third.

RESULTS
Race 1: 1. Moaddie (Yanis Aouabed), 2. Footprintinthesand (Darren Williams), 3. Mutawassal (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Al Hareth (Harry Bentley). Won by: 1 ¾, 2, Nk. Time: 2:01.76. Owner: Ahmed Hassan al-Malki al-Jehani. Trainer: Hamad Ahmed al-Jehani.
Race 2: 1. Aba’ath (Julien Auge), 2. Thakif (Wayne Smith), 3. Gidwa (Marco Monteriso), 4. Rasi (Harry Bentley). Won by: Time: 1:39.10. Owner: Al Shaqab Racing. Trainer: Thomas Fourcy.
Race 3: 1. Izzthatright (Richard Mullen), 2. Roi De Vitesse (Adrie de Vries), 3. Golden Steps (Frankie Dettori), 4. Sandbetweenourtoes (Harry Bentley). Won by: 1 ¼, 2, Shd. Time: 1:07.82. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 4: 1. Go Dan Go (Harry Bentley), 2. Magnolia Beach (Adrie de Vries), 3. Jumaira Tower (Alan Munro), 4. Glossy Posse (Pier Convertino). Won by: Shd, ¾, 1. Time: 1:59.97. Owner: Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah al-Attiyah & Son. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 5: 1. Opera Baron (JP Guillambert), 2. Flying Empress (Adrie de Vries), 3. French Encore (Darren Williams), 4. Tony Curtis (Sean Levey). Won by: 1/2, 1 1/4, 1. Time: 1:33.50. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 6: 1. Spaghetti (Harry Bentley), 2. Civaldi de Montegut (Richard Mullen), 3. Djelamer (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Carab (Adrie de Vries). Won by: 1 ¾, ¾, 6. Time: 2:00.92. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 7: 1. The Blue Eye (Harry Bentley), 2. Billabong (Christian Demuro), 3. Fort Moville (Marvin Suerland), 4. Agent Murphy (Jim Crowley). Won by: 4, Shd, 1 1/2. Time: 2:25.85. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 8: 1. Gazwan (Richard Mullen), 2. Assy (Harry Bentley), 3. Al Mourtajez (Julien Auge), 4. Raddad (Asad al-Seyabi). Won by: 2, 3/4, 5. Time: 2:36.45. Owner: HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.