A change of venue from Al Rayyan Racecourse to Al Uqda, which is usually a training venue, was sanctioned after the abandonment of racing 24 hours earlier at Al Rayyan after just one race when two runners slipped and were brought down on the home turn.
The Godolphin team, whose champion Rebel’s Romance would conquer his second consecutive H H The Amir Trophy (G3) later in the card, had begun a productive afternoon Feb. 16 when Al Qudra made all to land the Al Rayyan Mile (G2) under William Buick.
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Despite the race title, it was staged over seven furlongs due to the layout of the track, but Al Qudra would arguably have won whatever the distance.
Buick said: “It was a straightforward win. He’s a solid little horse and brought good form into the race. I rode him in Dubai when he was second last time, and he was entitled to improve for that and duly did.
“He’s got a great attitude. He stays a mile but he’s not short of boot, and fast ground suits him well.”
Lightning strikes
Rogue Lightning headed a British 1-2-3 in the local Dukhan Sprint (G3) to give Tom Clover a victory with his first runner in Qatar. He also provided a breakthrough first win on Amir’s Sword Day for local powerhouse Wathnan Racing.
Mickael Barzalona overcame a draw widest of all on the winner, who ran down Washington Heights in the six-furlong contest, with Quinault back in third.
Clover said: “That was marvelous. Mickael did well to drop him out early from his draw and everything went well. He came through the horses smoothly.
“It’s great for the Wathnan team and I’m very grateful for their support. It’s our first runner here and Carrie Browning has done a fantastic job with the horse since he came out here.”
Richard Brown, spokesman for Wathnan Racing, said: “It’s a first win for us among the international Thoroughbred races at the Emir’s Sword Festival. It’s one of the most prestigious fixtures in the calendar in this region and to get that win is very special.”
He added: “Tom Clover has opened up his yard to us in Newmarket and welcomed Hamed Al Jehani there last year. Tom and his wife Jackie have done a great job and Hamed was one of the first to congratulate him after the win.”
Brown added: “It’s unbelievable what they’ve done to get racing on here at such short notice. Yesterday was difficult and to turn it around in a 24-hour period is amazing. Huge credit has to go to the people that have managed this.
“We’ve been having runners all winter at this track and (jockey James Doyle) has always said it’s a very fair track, and he’s right. It’s nice for everyone, and every international runner who was going to run at Al Rayyan has turned out today, I believe.”
Tom Eaves, who rode runner-up Washington Heights, said: “He’s a five-furlong horse really and was just run out of it at the end, but he’s a still run a great race.”
