Al Ghadeer continues domination of Arabian division
 Al Ghadeer wins the Qatar International Stakes (credit: Goodwood Racecourse)
Al Ghadeer is on track for his third successive Doha Triple Crown after edging out Ch’ezza in the first leg, the £400,000 G1 Qatar International Stakes.
Sent off the 1/7 favourite on his return from a break, Al Ghadeer took some time to warm to his task under Christophe Soumillon, but the Francois Rohaut-trained six-year-old managed to get the better of his stablemate in the final half-furlong.
Al Ghadeer has now won 10 G1 races for purebred Arabians, including this race three times, and is regarded by many as the best purebred Arabian of all time.
The Doha Triple Crown continues with the G1 Arabian World Cup at Longchamp, France, in October and Qatar’s G1 HH The Amir Sword in February.
Rohaut said: “That was expected because the fourth Rajaaz is a good horse on his day, but what was important was to see the three old boys running their best.
“Ch’ezza gave a good challenge to Al Ghadeer. It is always difficult not running between Doha and today, which is five months. It is too much. We don’t have any race for him in the spring and he is getting old and a bit lazy maybe.
“It is so easy for Al Ghadeer that he relaxes a lot. Now he will have a prep in Longchamp at the beginning of September before the big one at the Arc meeting in October.
“He has won races in three different countries – one in July, one in October and one in February – and at different distances, a mile, a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half. He has won on soft ground like it was here two years ago and on firm in Doha.
“He has got everything and is qualified as a champion. You don't see a horse like that every year. I will not train an Arabian horse as good as him. He is probably the best Arabian horse ever. He is complete. He will do anything you ask him, and he is sound. He has never had any problems.
"Ch’ezza will only have one more run and then go to stud. I am very happy for him. He is also a special horse. He gives his best every time and his breeding is fantastic. The breeders will be happy to have such a nice horse as a stallion in France."
Soumillon said: “I was expecting to win more easily than that, but I had to give him a smack in the end and I would have preferred not to. Ch’ezza was in great shape today, so we had to ask a bit more of Al Ghadeer to win the race, but he’s still an amazing horse to win a big race like that again first time out this season.
“I always try to ride him as if it’s a prep race, because there’s always a big target for his next step, so I try to keep some fuel in the tank for the future – that’s why he was nearly beaten first time out. All I know is that when I asked him to quicken, the horse beside me gave another turn of foot. Ch’ezza is a very good horse when he’s in top shape and I think today he was. He was the one other horse in the race with a high handicap rating and the rest of the field was really under.
“The most important thing today was winning the race, for sure, but also to give him a nice race, and still teaching him to be quiet in the running because before he was sometimes very keen. Today he was really professional. He always does amazing things, and that’s why he’s probably the best Arabian horse we’ve seen on a racetrack. We had to work a little bit harder today, but he’s still an amazing horse to ride.”
Source: Goodwood Racecourse |
