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The 2017 Emir’s Sword Festival which takes place in Doha, Qatar, on 23, 24, 25 February has attracted very strong international entries.
The feature races take place on the Saturday to include the H.H The Emir’s Trophy (Gr1) Thoroughbred, run over 12 furlongs (2,400m), and H.H The Emir’s Sword, the final leg of the Purebred Arabian Triple Crown, both of which are worth US $1,000,000.
The H.H The Emir’s Trophy (Gr1) Thoroughbred, is headed by Noor al Hawa who is trained by Andreas Wohler in Germany. The son of Makfi ran out an impressive winner of the Qatar Derby over 10 Furlongs (2,000m) on 29 December for jockey Adrie de Vries and will step up in trip again as he attempts to complete a valuable Qatar race double. From the USA, trainer Doug O’Neill runs Royal Albert Hall who was last seen finishing 3rd in Santa Anita in January, Brice Blanc will ride. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Arab Spring, an unlucky short head second at Lingfield on Saturday, will also run along with the Richard Fahey-trained Gabrial. The Nicolas Clement-trained Now We Can who will be ridden by Stephane Pasquier will be the sole French contender.
Noor Al Hawa’s trainer, Andreas Wohler, reports him to be in great form ahead of his tilt on H.H The Emir’s Trophy: “He’s really well. His work has been very good and he looks fantastic. The biggest concern we have at the moment is the step up in trip (to a mile and a half), but he won well (in the Qatar Derby) over a mile and a quarter so we are hopeful as he’s in fantastic shape.”
The H.H Emir’s Sword features the Thomas Fourcy-trained and Al Shaqab owned Al Mourtajez who is still on course for the $1 million Triple Crown bonus after claiming the first two legs at the Qatar Goodwood Festival and then at the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting in October, 2016. Fourcy also runs Metrag whilst his fellow countryman, Eric Lemartinel who trains in Abu Dhabi runs Abu Alabyad. Dosser Athbar will represent British trainer, Phil Collington.
The US $200,000 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup, run over 1 Mile (1,600m) on the Friday has seen some fascinating entries. Group 2 winner, Cougar Mountain, from Aidan O’Brien’s powerful Ballydoyle yard and German trained, Diplomat (Mario Hofer) are the two confirmed international raiders.
Following the recent announcement of the major cross sponsorship with the Breeders Cup, the Group 3 Dukhan Sprint on Saturday, 25 February, will carry their sponsorship. Amongst those bidding to claim the US $250,000 prize, will be the British-trained Gracious John (David Evans) who won a couple of valuable handicaps at the back end of last year. The Jeremy Gask-trained Medicean Man who was just touched off on his latest start at Meydan also runs.
David Evans will also be represented on the same card by Sea Fox, who goes for the Al Bidda Mile which is also worth US $250,000 in prize money. There will be another British representative in the shape of Mr Scaramanga who was bought in December off Richard Hannon to train for Epsom based trainer, Simon Dow. Meanwhile, Norwegian trainer Niels Petersen sends Trouble of Course who dead heated for 2nd in the $100,000 Al Rayyan Stakes back in December. The Richard Hannon-trained and Al Shaqab owned Ghayyar is also an intended runner.
Nasser Sherida Al Kaabi, General Manager of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club commented: “The 2017 Emir’s Sword Festival is our most prestigious race meeting of the year in Qatar and we are delighted to have attracted such a strong international entry. I am particularly pleased to see the victorious Qatar Derby winner, Noor al Hawa, return to try and claim the H.H The Emir’s Trophy.”
Shipment of invited horses will be arranged and paid for by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club. Connections of horses will also receive business class flights and accommodation.
