€100,000 Qatar Prix Dragon (Gr1-PA) : Ch'ezza seals his Qatar Arabian World Cup passage
Photo scoopdyga.com
A race restricted to Purebred Arabians, the Qatar Prix Dragon (GR1 PA, i.e. the highest grade in racing) went to Ch'ezza, a 6-year-old colt trained at Pau by François Rohaut. Ch'ezza is owned by Qatari national Abdulla Fahad Ah Al-Attiyah. Ch'ezza had not been seen out since finishing third in the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (Gr1 PA) in December. At Paris-Longchamp on Sunday, Ch'ezza proved much the best after beating Nabucco Al Maury, who is trained at Royan by Thomas Fourcy, by a length and a quarter, with the favourite, Al Wakrah, trained by Jean de Mieulle, back in third.
Ch'ezza was bred in the Landes region, at the Haras de Mandore, a major hub when it comes to breeding Purebred Arabians, and which has been owned by the Watrigant family for several generations.
Ch'ezza will be aimed at the Qatar Arabian World Cup (Gr1 PA), on 6 October at Paris-Longchamp. This will be his second attempt at the race, having finished third in the 2023 renewal
The technical result
QATAR PRIX DRAGON
1sT CH'EZZA (M. Guyon)
2nd NABUCCO AL MAURY (M. Barzalona)
3rd AL WAKRAH (C. Soumillon)
Time: 2m 16.6s. Distances: 1 ¼l – 2 1/2l – 10l.
What connections said:
François Rohaut – the trainer of Ch’eeza (1st) – Pau (Pyrénéés-Atlantiques)
« Ch'eeza did it very well and easily. He had been giving me good vibes in the morning, and he has been striding out really well. He's a handsome horse who has proved yet again that he's a very smart performer. I was hoping he would deliver a good performance on his reapperance. He was very switched off throughout the first part of the race. He's a real racehorse. Once pulled out for his run, he sealed the issue by moving up from second to fifth gear. It's great to see this handsome horse, and smart customer to boot, at his best. This was his last tune up before the Qatar Arabian World Cup. It should ensure that he will be in tip-top shape for the big race. He acts on any ground and his temperament, when he reaches the racecourse, is impeccable. He knows why he's here. . »
Thomas Fourcy – the trainer of Nabucco Al Maury (2nd) – Royan-La Palmyre (Charente-Maritime)
« I'm very happy with Nabucco Al Maury. He had a good race and his jockey, Maxime Guyon, certainly looked after him. He always had the winner in his sights, and, at one point, I thought he was going to bustle the winner up, but he's still very tender mentally. As soon as he sees daylight, he has his own way of doing things, as his head tends to go up a bit rather than striding out. The ground wasn’t ideal for him. He's a horse that is still capable of ageing well. He won't heading to the [Qatar] Arabian World Cup as he will be required to tackle exalted company. It's better to let him mature with age, and to campaign him as a 5-year-old year. He could go Qatar PA Derby for 4-year-olds in December. »
Jean de Mieulle – the trainer of Al Wakrah (3rd) – trained in Qatar but based at Morannes-sur-Sarthe (Maine-et-Loire) during the summer.
« The plan was not to go to the front with Al Wakrah. Al Tammtam was there to act as the pacemaker, but it didn't work out as planned. As 2,000m is as far as Al Wakrah cares to go, and especially on soft ground. Christophe Soumillon told me that the ground was quite sticky. We're all disappointed as we were expecting a different performance level. We're going to have to dissect the race in the cold light of day. »