Harab Al Naif eases to Asherij Cup win

Jockey Tomas Lukasek leads Harab Al Naif to Asherij Cup victory at Al Rayyan Racecourse yesterday. PICTURE: Juhaim

• Jockeys Tomas Lukasek and Szczepan Mazur register two victories each Tomas Lukasek guided Yousuf Abdulla al-Lingawi-owned Harab Al Naif to Asherij Cup victory in third race meeting of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club at Al Rayyan Racecourse on Wednesday. Harab Al Naif, trained by Engineer Mohamed Rashid Seif al-Kuwari, sprinted in all its glory in the final stretch to take a comfortable win in the 1,200m Local Purebred Arabian Conditions race. Moneeaty, ridden by Hugo Besnier, was a distant second, while Giuseppe Cultraro led Alzubarah Katara to third place in the feature race, which carried QR100,000 in total prize money. The victory with Harab Al Naif was second in the day for jockey Lukasek. Earlier he had piloted Al Sraiya Stud’s Ayaath Alsraiya to a half-length victory in the 1,700m Thoroughbred Handicap.        Jockey Szczepan Mazur also completed a double yesterday after riding Osama al-Dafea-trained Baker De Saularie to a dominating victory in 1,700m Purebred Arabian Conditions. Earlier, Mazur kicked off the Asherij Cup Day by guiding Al Jeryan Stud’s AJS Rasheed to a commanding victory in Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate (3yo only). The MHK al-Attiyah-trained colt raced to a 3¼ length win over Sanna-led Al Hammam in the opening race of the day. The horse racing season, which began last week, will include many race meetings at both Al Rayyan and Al Uqda Racecourses and will conclude with the End Of Season Cup meeting on April 24, 2023. The new season racing programme includes 52 race days at Al Rayyan Racecourse and 17 at Al Uqda, making a total of 69 days to be run on both turf and sand over six months and 12 days. Races at Al Uqda will start on November 19 with the Umm Swayya Cup Day and the last race meeting in the season there will be the Local Thoroughbred Trophy Day and will be held on February 24.3rd Race Meeting - Asherij CupWinners (Horse, Trainer, Jockey) 1. Asherij Cup - Local Purebred Arabian Conditions (Fillies & Mares) Harab Al Naif, Eng. Mohamed Rashid Seif al-Kuwari, Tomas Lukasek 2. Purebred Arabian Conditions Baker De Saularie, Osama Al-Dafea, Szczepan Mazur 3. Thoroughbred Handicap 70-90 (Class 3) Millions, Abdulaziz Ali al-Kathiri, Rashid Ali al-Marri* 4. Thoroughbred Handicap 55-75 (Class 5) Ayaath Alsraiya, Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki, Tomas Lukasek 5. Local Thoroughbred Novice Plate Al Mukhadram, Khaled Mohamed Alahmad, Alberto Sanna 6. Thoroughbred Handicap 0-65 (Class 6) Attache, Wasim al-Sahn, Jefferson Smith 7. Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate (3yo only) AJS Rasheed, M.H.K Al Attiyah, Szczepan Mazur