Chopin Takes The Trophy To Bahrain

DOHA, Qatar–Chopin (Ger) (Santiago {Ger}) provided a true fairytale ending for his connections when winning Saturday's feature race for Thoroughbreds at Al Rayyan, the $1-million HH The Emir's Trophy over 2400 metres on the turf. The Emir's Trophy was the co-feature on the card with the $1-million HH The Emir's Sword for Purebred Arabians, and that pair of races brought to a close three days of racing of the HH The Emir's Sword Festival at Al Rayyan that saw an unprecedented 29 international horses take part, with many more international humans in town to enjoy the show.

Chopin was the winner of the G3 Dr Busch Memorial at three while under the care of trainer Andreas Wohler, and after that race he was purchased privately by Qatar Racing and set a G1 Investec Derby assignment. He wound up only seventh that day behind Ruler of the World (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and failed to win another race in Europe before being purchased by Maher Ibrahim Lutfalla for 9,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale in 2015. The gelding has since flourished in Qatar's neighbouring Bahrain, winning three local Group 1s. He was given two preps on the year for this race, most recently a win going 2000 metres in that country on Feb. 3.

When the gates sprung for the Emir's Trophy it was Fundamental (Arch) who took up the running, leading the field around the first two bends. Jockey Alberto Sana had Chopin tucked in under cover in about fifth, and when they straightened for the backstretch run he bolding maneuvered him to the outside and pushed go, allowing Chopin to take over the lead. The bay promptly opened up about four lengths on the field and made it six on the third bend. Chopin didn't look like coming back to the field at the top of the lane and that proved true, with nothing able to make much of a dent in his margin, which was eventually four lengths. Last December's Qatar Derby winner Noor Al Hawa (Fr) (Makfi {GB}), who is trained by Chopin's former conditioner Wohler, got up for second and Fundamental made a brave re-rally to be third. His connections from Al Shahania Stud enjoyed their moment in the spotlight one race later when the Purebred Arabian Ebraz (GB) (Amer) won the HH The Emir's Sword.

The Emir's Sword–also worth $1-million but the much more popular race among the locals–is the world's most prestigious Arabian race and the final leg of the international Triple Crown for Arabians, following the Qatar International S. at Goodwood and the Qatar Arabian World Cup at Chantilly. Al Mourtajez (Fr) (Dahess) was widely expected to complete the triple and made a similar mid-race rally to that of Chopin, but the grey ran out of fuel in the end as Ebraz put in a bold late run to take the spoils by 3 1/2 lengths.

Al Shahania trainer Julian Smart, who was winning the race for the second straight year, was especially emotional post-race, taking a few moments to gather himself before saying, “I'm telling you this horse is a superstar. I told everybody in the beginning. We got unlucky over a mile two starts ago and we were unlucky again last time out, and I just said to [jockey] Alan [Munro], make sure over this trip and over the pace they're going to go, use the weight to your advantage, and boy did he ever. What a great ride and what a great little horse.”

Doha has experienced unseasonably wet weather in recent weeks, and the average temperature for the week of about 20 degrees was well below the norm for this time of year in Qatar, but conditions were kind on Saturday, with sunny skies and warm temperatures greeting racegoers. A large number of locals turned out to enjoy Qatar's most important day of racing which, like the rest of the festival, included plenty of entertainment between races with children's pony races as well as match races for amateur riders.

The festival was also well-attended by internationals, and it would have been impossible to ignore the influence of European-connected horses in the Thoroughbred races. Irish-breds won eight of the 11 races for open-company Thoroughbreds over the three days, and 10 of those 11 winners were sold to their current connections from either the July Sale or Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale at Tattersalls. These results justify a spend by Qataris at the European horses-in-training sales that has rapidly increased in quality and quantity over the last few years. Qataris spent 1.3-million gns on 27 horses at last year's Tattersalls July Sale, and 1.6-million gns on 24 at last year's Autumn Sale. Mr Scaramanga (GB), a 3-year-old son of Sir Percy (GB), was one particular success story on Saturday when winning the Al Biddah Mile (a local Group 2). Mr Scaramanga was discarded by the Richard Hannon Stable at the Tattersalls Autumn Sale last October, where he was picked up by Robert Moss and Christopher Brennan for 90,000gns. He won at first asking in his new colours in a Lingfield novice race in December, and his new owners were further rewarded on Saturday with the $142,500 winner's share of the $250,000 purse.

An excellent return was also provided on Thursday by Thorndyke (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), a 30,000gns buy at the Autumn sale last year who earned $17,100 for a maiden win on Thursday; and Adham (Ire) (Dream Ahead), a 27,000gns purchase last July who earned $17,100 for a handicap win.

The lone Thoroughbred winner to not emerge from Tattersalls was Saturday's Dukhan Sprint (local Group 3) winner Izzthatright (Ire) (Moss Vale {Ire}). The 5-year-old gelding had finished second in this race last year and has since won five of seven for trainer Jassim Mohammed Ghazali. The Dukhan Sprint is the first event in a new partnership between Breeders' Cup and the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, and will see a reciprocal race sponsorship at this year's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar Nov. 3 and 4.

Wrapping up my first visit to Qatar, I come away with the feeling that the Thoroughbred industry in the country will continue to grow. A broad range of Qatari owners are constantly increasing their spend on high-quality imports, especially from Europe, and races restricted to Qatar-bred Thoroughbreds (or as they're called in Qatar, 'Local Thoroughbreds') carry decent purses and are incentivizing the locals to increase and improve their breeding stock. Saturday's opener was a race for Local Thoroughbreds worth $150,000, while throughout the rest of the festival Local Thoroughbred races were run for $30,000; greater than the $25,000 on offer for the open Thoroughbred handicaps. As the Thoroughbred racing industry continues to develop alongside the country itself, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Qatar.