Hamad bin Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah, President of the Asian Equestrian Federation and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, crowned the winners of the Qatar Derby for purebred Arabian horses aged 4 years of the first category, whose race was held under the sponsorship of the Racing and Equestrian Club at the Chantilly Racecourse in France on Sunday, June 16, 2024, with the participation of 11 A horse from this age group competed over a distance of 2000 meters to win the grand title, which is considered one of the most important titles in purebred Arabian horse racing for this age group in the summer racing season in France. The victory was won by the colt “Murad” (Thaqif), King of Yas Horse Racing Management, to confirm the blonde colt’s worthiness. After winning in his previous participation, the Dorman Prize in the third category at the Sheikh Mansour Festival at La Teste Racecourse in France.
Before the start of the half, “Murad” was considered the strongest competitor of the colt “Lucail” (Al-Murtajiz), King of Al Shaqab Racing, who was the first candidate to win the Derby. However, “Murad” was able to win under the supervision of trainer Damien de Wattregon and led by his usual horse, Yoritz Mendizabal, adding to his score his first victories. From the first category.
With the start of the half, “Murad” headed early and strongly to occupy the lead and maintain it, and upon entering the final straight path, he increased his momentum to widen the gap between him and the rest of the horses. Then he faced strong but late competition from the colt “Extra Time” (Valiant Boy), but “Murad » He managed to hold on and maintain the lead until he won by a neck, so “Extra Time” came in second place under the banner of owner Guy Nevins and under the supervision of coach David Morrison and led by Al-Khayal, Mikael Barzalona, while “Lucille” took third place under the supervision of coach François Roux and led by Al-Khayyal, Christophe Soumillon.
The happiness of the winning trainer seemed very clear after this great victory, and he said, expressing the strength of the competition in the last meters of the race and praising the performance of his horse: “The last 50 meters were very long, but he is the type that is characterized by extreme courage, and in his previous participation on the La Teste track None of his other rivals wanted to get to the front, so Yuretz’s imagination ended up taking him to the front, especially since the horse wanted to lunge and open the stride, and his only problem was that he would push too fast from the starting gate and then we couldn’t stop him, and I told Yuretz not to fight him. He lets him advance unless one of Al Shaqab Racing’s horses decides to advance, but on the condition that he does not resist him, but rather leads him as a distinguished horse, and he is already at the top of his level currently, and this is the race that we are looking forward to him winning, as it is an exemplary race for him.”
The colt “Murad” was produced by its owner, Yas Horse Racing Management, and is the son of the mare “Ghabra” (Dorman).
