Nour Al Maury proves too good once again by winning Qatar Arabian Trophy des Juments
The Gr.1 (PA) Qatar Arabian Trophy Des Juments, for 4YO fillies, saw the Al Shaqab-owned Nour Al Maury get her fourth straight Gr1 PA victory.
Al Shaqab Racing continued their impressive series of wins in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe weekend, September 30th and October 1st, held under Qatari sponsorship represented by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC).
Following the two Gr1 PA titles landed by their runners at Saint Cloud on Friday, excellence continued with Nour Al Maury (Azadi x Nectarina Al Maury) carrying Al Shaqab Racing to a third victory in less than 24 hours when the Thomas Fourcy-trained filly took the Gr1 PA Qatar Arabian Trophy Des Juments with Olivier Peslier in the saddle at ParisLongchamp on Saturday, September 30. Khalifa bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, QREC Board Member, presented the trophies to the winners.
Nour Al Maury, the hot favourite and Al Shaqab Racing representative, won the Qatar Arabian Trophy des Juments and a race that the Qatari outfit had never won before; which is particularly unusual as the record books reveal that Al Shaqab Racing has come up trumps in the vast majoritý of European Group 1 PA races.
The filly, trained by Thomas Fourcy, a professional handler based near Royan (Charente Maritime) and responsible for last year’s winner, was coming off three consecutive Group PA 1 wins: the pinnacle of excellence in horse racing.
Nour Al Maury was bred by Renée-Laure Koch in the Haute-Garonne region: the same academy responsible for breeding the winner of the Qatar Arabian Trophy des Pouliches, a Group 1 PA race reserved for 3-year-old PA fillies, at Saint-Cloud 24 hours earlier.
Trained by Thomas Fourcy, the Purebred Arabian filly was sent off the short-priced favourite. The four-year-old was an excellent winner on her three previous starts and showed huge ability when beating top class mare Lady Princess (General) earlier this year.
With Olivier Peslier in the saddle, Nour Al Maury was prominent behind the leader of the 2000m contest. Forced to switch wide at the beginning of the home straight after leader Casbar Meteora (Nieshan) got injured, Nour Al Maury was quickly able to get back on terms to win a shade cosily. Gorat Aeen (Azadi) ran a stormer in second in the colours of HE Sheikha Reem bint Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani for trainer F. Rohaut and jockey Maxime Guyon.
The second favourite, Ghadah (Azadi), who was another representative of Al Shaqab Racing took third for the winning trainer and jockey Faleh Bughenaim.
Speaking after the race, Peslier said, “I had a good race but the two horses in front of me completely stopped. I didn’t feel comfortable but I took my time and I knew she was able accelerate again from this incident. I wish they went a stronger gallop as she would have benefited from it but she won and she is very talented.”
Thomas Fourcy said after the race, “I was a bit worried about the wide draw but the magic hands of Olivier Peslier and the talent of the filly made the difference. I didn’t want to run between her first start and today as she needed to come into this race fresh. She’s well-bred and I never had any doubt about her ability.”
Source: France Galop and QREC. Photos by Juhaim/QREC
