France, Saint-Cloud 4 October 2024
The Qatar Arabian Trophy des Poulains is traditionally the best race for 3-year-old Purebred Arabian colts in the world. This Group 1, the highest level of excellence in horse racing, attracted eight runners at Saint-Cloud. Victory went to Mutaz (Munjiz X Rakha), trained at Mont-de-Marsan by Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte.
Mutaz was bred and is owned by Yas Horse Racing Management, the stable of H.H Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates. Mutaz won by a short head over Maqbool, also trained by Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte and belonging to Yas Horse Racing Management. Mutaz had just won the French Arabian Breeders’ Challenge – Colts (Group 2 PA) ahead of Maqbool. Hm Majdallah, trained by Thomas Fourcy, based in Royan-La Palmyre, finished third, two lengths behind.
H.H Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan had not won this race since 2012 with Mushrae, who, the following year, won the Qatar Arabian World Cup (Group 1 PA).
Mutaz also gives his jockey, Guillaume Guedj-Gay, his first Group 1 victory.
Quotes from the connections
Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte – trainer of Mutaz (1st), Maqbool (2nd) and Mouzaffar de Monlau (6th) – Mont-de-Marsan Training Centre
“To have the first two in a Group 1 it’s fantastic. From their first race, Mutaz and Maqbool showed good potential and have continued to improve. The plan was always to go to Saint-Cloud, and they delivered. This Group 1 PA is always a test, but it bodes well for future years of competition when they run well here. They haven’t raced much before and aren’t over-raced. Mutaz is out of the ordinary in many ways, not least physically. He’s in the mould of the good chestnut horses from this stud, with a good frame. I think he’s done for the year. Travelling at this age takes a bit out of them for the future. Maqbool pulled a bit, and his jockey told me he should have made his move sooner. It was the first time he wore blinkers. Mouzaffar de Monlau pulled again; there’s a lot of fine-tuning.
Thomas Fourcy – trainer of Hm Majdallah (3rd), Hm Hafid (7th) and Mohtaram (8th) – Royan-La Palmyre Training Centre “I’m happy with Hm Majdallah. During the race, we saw clearly that he lacked experience and maturity. That’s a good sign for the future.”
