‘This is the first week for us. And it’s been a great start already. We have had four winners, two Cups’

Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari-owned Itorio had ended his campaign on a high last season, winning the Al Gharafa Cup in April, and yesterday, his form saw no dip when Harry Bentley rode the four-year-old colt to a victory in the Barzan Cup (Group 3) on the turf at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday.
The mile-long Class 1 race saw the Mohamed Jassim Ghazali-schooled colt line up behind pacemaker Bretherton and had little difficulty taking the lead a furlong and a half from the post.
Al Shaqab Racing’s Moheet, trained by Mohamed’s father Jassim, was on Itorio’s heel for the bulk of the run and he too pushed up the pace. Majed Seifeddine-trained Vitally Important found a place alongside Moheet, but fell short by a head at the post.
“This is the first week for us. And it’s been a great start already. We have had four winners, two Cups. I hope we continue the same way and back to the top,” Mohamed said after the win.
“Itorio is a fast horse, and I had sent Bretherton in to set the pace for the race. There have been times when the race pace has been slow. But today, Harry Bentley did exactly what I had asked and it turned out to be an easy one for him.”
It was also the first time that Itorio picked up a win on his first race in a season.
Umm Qarn’s Amer colt Tayf stayed true to his top rating (117) in the Purebred Arabians event, registering his first win in Qatar for trainer Alban de Mieulle.
Jockey Gaetan Faucon had his ride go through a gap between early leader and stablemate Gadab, with Jean Baptiste Hamel at the helm, and Civaldi de Montegut, ridden by Bentley, two furlongs from the post, even as Julian Smart-trained Reda put on display some amazing pace, moving up from the back of the field.
Marco Monteriso’s ride went past another Smart ward Najda but the speed wasn’t good enough to catch Tayf.
Smart’s first victory of the day was when Alberto Sanna raced Shabih Alreeh to his maiden victory in the other Purebred Arabians event over a mile.
Sanna, riding in the colours of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani, kept his ride away from the traffic, even as Umm Qarn’s Farooq took the early lead with Samborn, ridden by Bentley, not too far behind.
As the field spread on the home straight, both Shabih Alreeh and Samborn made their move, but only the former was able to go past Farooq 100m away from the post. De Mieulle’s charge did well to challenge the eventual winner briefly before finishing second.
Al Uraiq Secret beat Asaaf for the third straight time and for the second consecutive week, with the Ibrahim al-Malki-schooled colt winning the Local Thoroughbred Guineas under Eduardo Pedroza.
In May this year, Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani-owned three-year-old had ended his season with a win in the Umm Bab Cup ahead of Asaaf.
Bentley rode debutant Abu Samrah to a third place finish for Jassim Ghazali. Ghazali’s Al Biddah Mile winner Opera Baron opened his campaign for the new season with a win under Bentley. Owned by Leading Owner Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari, Opera Baron was the top three-year-old Thoroughbred last season, and had won his last outing in May.
Yesterday, Bentley had his ride track early leader Top Face on the inside, before making his move coming on to the home stretch as the field spread wide. With roughly 100m to go, he passed Top Face, who was making his Qatar debut, while Al Murqab Stud’s Bluebeard held on well to edge out a fast-closing French Encore for the third spot.
Umm Qarn-owned Majeed made a winning return to the turf in Qatar, when the Purebred Arabian Trophy winner picked up his eighth career victory for trainer De Mieulle. Majeed had ended his Qatar season earlier this year with a third place finish behind stablemate TM Thunder Struck. However, yesterday, jockey Gaetan Faucon guided Amer’s son well enough to finish two lengths ahead of Rassan, ridden by Bentley, while De Mieulle’s other ward Raedah completed the podium under Jean Baptiste Hamel
Jockey Yanis Aouabed guided Mansoor al-Shahwani’s Majd Al Arab colt Haddaj Dukhan to his maiden victory, finishing ahead of Julian Smart’s debutante Rabia in the Local Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate event over seven furlongs.

RESULTS
Race 1: 1. Haddaj Dukhan (Yanis Aouabed), 2. Rabia (Alberto Sanna), 3. Teejann (JP Guillambert), 4. Amal (Gaetan Faucon). Won by: 3 ½, Hd, 2 ½. Time: 1:31.92. Owner: Mansoor Misfer al-Shahwani. Trainer: Mansoor al-Shahwani
Race 2: 1. Majeed (Gaetan Faucon), 2. Rassan (Harry Bentley), 3. Raedah (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Taraf (Alberto Sanna). Won by: 2, ½, ½. Time: 1:42.97. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 3: 1. Opera Baron (Harry Bentley), 2. Top Face (Gaetan Faucon), 3. Bluebeard (Gerald Avranche), 4. French Encore (Marco Monteriso). Won by 1, 1/2, Dh-Nk. Time: 1:34.96. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 4: 1. Al Uraiq Secret (Eduardo Pedroza), 2. Asaaf (Marvin Suerland), 3. Abu Samrah (Harry Bentley), 4. Saqr (Gaetan Faucon). Won by: 1 3/4, 1/2, 3. Time: 1:38.12. Owner: Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani. Trainer: Ibrahim al-Malki.
Race 5: 1. Shabih Alreeh (Alberto Sanna), 2. Farooq (Gaetan Faucon), 3. Samborn (Harry Bentley), 4. MJ Lattam (Marco Monteriso). Won by: 1 ¼, 3 ½, ½. Time: 1:45.42. Owner: HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.
Race 6: 1. Tayf (Gaetan Faucon), 2. Reda (Marco Monteriso), 3. Najda (Alberto Sanna), 4. Civaldi de Montegut (Harry Bentley). Won by: 1, ½, 3. Time: 1:44.30. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 7: 1. Itorio (Harry Bentley), 2. Moheet (Marvin Suerland), 3. Vitally Important (Adnan Hawa), 4. Bretherton (JP Guillambert). Won by: 1/2, Hd, 1 1/4. Time: 1:34.29. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Mohammed Jassim Ghazali.