‘I feel so proud about starting the season with a win. It is a great win for Sandbetweenourtoes’
 
Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari was all smiles on the first day of the season yesterday, with Sandbetweenourtoes racing to victory in the Al Safliya Cup, a Class 2 Thoroughbred Handicap race for horses rated 91-105, on the dirt at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC).
Al-Kuwari was the leading owner of the last season, with his horses winning the big ones — HH The Emir’s Trophy with The Blue Eye, Al Biddah Mile with Opera Baron and HH The Emir’s Silver Sword with Spaghetti.
“I feel so proud about starting the season with a win. It is a great win for Sandbetweenourtoes,” al-Kuwari told Gulf Times yesterday after Marco Monteriso rode the seven-year-old son of Footstepsinthesand to victory in the 1100m run.
“After such a big season last time round, I have been missing the race days, the big races and the wins, and now to start like this is great. I hope this season is even better than the last time.”
Asked if he feels the pressure after such a big season, he said, “After such a big season, there is always pressure to try and better it. So it is big pressure for us, trainers Jassim Ghazali, Mubarak al-Khayarin and Mohamed Jassim Ghazali.
“But then again it is still just the first day of the season, and you don’t really know what the future holds for you. I wish the best for all the owners in Qatar and also the international owners who come here.”
Ibrahim al-Malki’s wards, Nawarah and Victory Laurel, completed the podium, while a third, Aqdaar, finished fourth. A year after beginning his season with a win over the same distance on dirt, Maazouz was at it again, edging out Tameh for a fine win in the nine furlong Purebred Arabian Conditions event yesterday.
Jockey Pier Convertino kept Maazouz on the heels of Injaaz Stud’s Mayasa, who jostled for the lead with Tameh early on. In the final 400m, Mayasa found herself spent and left it to the other two to fight it out for a victory, and Maazouz, trained by Majed Seifeddine, did enough to pass Tameh, saddled by Mubarak al-Khayarin, for a three-quarters of a length victory.
Mayasa was third under JP Guillambert. Raj To Riches had shed his maiden status on his final start last season in April. Yesterday, on the opening day, he was ahead of the pack yet again, demolishing the competition, winning the Thoroughbred Classified Stakes, a Class 4 race for three-year-olds rated 80 and below, by 11 lengths.
It was the second victory of the day for the trainer-owner-jockey combine of Zuhair Mohsen, Abdulaziz Jassim al-Boenain and Marvin Suerland, having won the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate event earlier in the evening.
Having led from pillar to post, the chestnut colt finished ahead of second-placed Fast Gold and Strategic Way completing the podium.
Just like he did last year, Sunley Pride raced to a victory on the opening day of the season, winning the Class 3 Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 76-90.
The seven-year-old, trained by Deborah Mountain, was nowhere near the front when the 1700m run started, with Al Murqab Stud’s Truancy leading and Millington on his heels. Coming on to the final bend, however, jockey Stephan Ladjadj had his chestnut ride steadily move up on the outside.
On to the final straight, 300m out, the Mohamed Hassan Ali Abdulmalik-owned gelding was right next to the leader, and at the post, he had Truancy by a little over a length for his seventh career victory. Gaetan Faucon rode Elkhart to a third place finish.
Hassan al-Matwi’s Lolita Du Panjshir raced to her second career win, when Gerald Avranche rode her to a narrow victory over Ibrahim al-Malki-trained Suhail Al Uraiq in the Purebred Arabian Handicap event for horses rated 70 and below.
Suhail Al Uraiq, ridden by Alberto Sanna, was ridden in quest for the five-year-old’s second victory, the first being back in October 2014. Instead, Majd Al Arab’s son edged out Umm Qarn mare Taima for the second spot.
Earlier in the day, after 18 unsuccessful attempts, Hamad al-Marri’s TM Majid Texas finally shed his maiden status winning the Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate event.
Xavier Ziani rode the four-year-old to a little less than a length’s victory over Umm Qarn’s filly Magie D’Eau, while the rest of the field far behind.
In the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate event, Suerland rode Apicus to an imperious victory, with the Mohsen-saddled filly leading from pillar-to-post. Al Hazam finished second in his fifth run.
 
RESULTS
Race 1: 1. TM Majid Texas (Xavier Ziani), 2. Magie D’Eau (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 3. Wejdan (Alberto Sanna), 4. Radhwa (Marvin Suerland). Won by: ¾, 5, 14. Time: 1:19.93. Owner: Hamad Ateeq Mohamed al-Marri. Trainer: H. al-Marri.
Race 2: 1. Lolita Du Panjshir (Gerald Avranche), 2. Suhail Al Uraiq (Alberto Sanna), 3. Taima (Gaetan Faucon), 4. Deebal (Pier Convertino). Won by: Nk, 1 ¾, 6. Time: 1:20.48. Owner: Hassan Ali Hassan al-Matwi. Trainer: Hassan al-Matwi.
Race 3: 1. Apicus (Marvin Suerland), 2. Al Hazam (Saleem Golam), 3. China Club (Yanis Aouabed), 4. Frankie Pe (Faleh Bughanaim). Won by: 6, 4, 3. Time: 1:12.02. Owner: Abdulaziz Jassim al-Boenain. Trainer: Zuhair Mohsen.
Race 4: 1. Sunley Pride (Stephan Ladjadj). 2. Truancy (Marvin Suerland), 3. Elkhart (Darren Williams), 4. Spongy (JP Guillambert). Won by: 1 ¼, 1 /34, Shd. Time: 1:49.60. Owner: Mohamed Hassan Ali Abdulmalik. Trainer: Deborah Mountain.
Race 5: 1. Raj To Riches (Marvin Suerland), 2. Fast Gold (JP Guillambert), 3. Strategic Way (Pier Convertino), 4. Comedy Night (Marco Monteriso). Won by: 11, 13, Shd. Time: 1:50.57. Owner: Abdulaziz Jassim al-Boenain. Trainer: Zuhair Mohsen.
Race 6: 1. Maazouz (Pier Convertino), 2. Tameh (Alberto Sanna), 3. Mayasa (JP Guillambert), 4. Al Qatari (Saleem Golam). Won by: ¾, 3, 6. Time: 2:06.67. Owner: Rashid Mubarak Aljafali al-Naimi. Trainer: Majed Seifeddine.
Race 7: 1. Sandbetweenourtoes (Marco Monteriso), 2. Nawarah (Luca Sorrentino), 3. Victory Laurel (Alberto Sanna), 4. Aqdaar (Yanis Aouabed). Won by: 1 3/4, Shd, Nk. Time: 1:04.22. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari.
ainer: Mubarak al-Khayarin.