Qatari horses continued winning streak at European racetracks. Mountasir landed a second victory in the Premio Wathba Stallion Cup at San Sebastien, Spain.
Bred and owned by H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, he was the hot favourite of this race.
Trained by Thomas Fourcy, Mountasir won a nice race earlier this year in France and has proved to be a very consistent competitor in all of his four starts. Ridden by Jerome Cabre, he jumped well to take the lead before the first bend, followed by Gaby De Faust (Dahess). In the straight, Mountasir was headed by Gaby De Faust, but Mountasir showed he is not only talented but also tough. When Jerome Cabre asked him, he stormed to the retake the lead and win comfortably. Natalma Al Maury (Dahess) finished in second, just in front of Gaby De Faust.
Rufaa, who is owned by Al Shaqab Racing, has barley put a foot wrong in 2020. He won his third consecutive race of the season in the Betway Handicap at Newmarket’s July course. Partnered by his regular rider Robert Havlin over the 1,400-metre race, he was a little keen in the early stages as his jockey tried to settle him with cover. There was a reasonably steady pace in this 8-runner race. Coming under pressure at the 500-metre mark, he joined the leaders in the final 200 meters. He won by two lengths. Improving with every race, Al Rufaa could well be heading into Stakes company for the second half of the season.
Maghamir Des Forges (Mahabb) landed a first victory in the Prix Danbik - Wathba Stallions Cup at Pompadour, France. This was a first success in France for the colours of Nasser Bin Saeed Al Eida.
