The first performance of three “Al Khalediahs” owned by Polska AKF Polska Sp. z o.o. at the Qatar Derby Pur-Sang – Arab Group 1 in Chantilly (2000 m, total prizes 150 thousand euro), held last Sunday, must be considered successful. Dary, who finished from a farther position (16: 1) took fourth place, and Mayar (22: 1), who lead the way, defended the fifth, last paid place. In total, both colts earned 22,500 EUR (15,000 + 7,500). The highest-ranked horse from AKF Polska, Rasmy Al Khalediah (12-1), fell below expectations. Initially, he ran just behind Mayar, but was eliminated on the straight and finished 12th out of 15 horses.

A certain win was achieved by the second favorite (7:2) Hoggar De L’Ardus (Mister Ginoux – Alfa De L’ardus by Kash De L’ardus), Amer’s grandson, ridden by jockey Maxim Guyon. He overtook the first favorite Abbes (2:1) by 3 lengths. Both horses are trained by Thomas Fourcy and the owner of the winner is H.H. Sh. Mohammed Hammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani. The lowly counted Soko (28:1) finished third, 6.5 lengths behind the winner, ahead of Dary by 1.75, the latter in turn 4.5 lengths ahead of Mayar. The time of the winner was excellent: 2’10.69. Dary and Mayar also had very good results respectively: 2’11.99 and 2’12.67. They are definitely better than the Służewiec record over 2 km, which since 2013 belongs to the French filly Ancelly (Dahess – Djurdjura by Al Sakbe) – 2’14,4. On the spear side she is the granddaughter of Amer, just as the Derby winner in Chantilly.

Congratulations to the trainers: Bartosz Głowacki from Nowa Mała Wieś, who prepares Dary for starts, and Michał Borkowski, who apart from the sensational 2018 World Cup winner Fazza Al Khalediah also trains his half-brother Mayar at Partynice.

As a side note, let us remind you that the term “half brother” refers only to horses having the same dam. It can be expected that in the second half of the season, Dary and Mayar will be competing only abroad, as previously announced on polskiearaby.com by the director of Polska AKF Hubert Kulesza, while Rasmy will most likely be entered for the Europa Cup at Służewiec sponsored since 2011 ( with a one-year break in 2018) by the Jockey Club in Dubai.

Samonlau ‘OA’ better than Wasma Al Khalediah

The prediction of trainer Cornelia Fraisl, who is very successful this season, that the four-year-old Dutch-bred colt Samonlau ‘OA’ (Al Mamun Monlau – Sadjella by Djebbel) will be more suited to the slightly soft track. In the race for the Kurozwęki St. (cat. B, 2600), in which only four horses appeared after the withdrawal of Amwaj Al Khalediah, he was predicted third after French Wasma Al Khalediah (Jalnar Al Khalidiah – Chinook de Ghazal by Dormane) and the Polish-bred Purhiba ( Murhib – Polina by Balaton). First, the favorite led the race slowly with Konrad Mazur and gradually increased the pace. However, he did not manage to develop a clear advantage. During a hellishly fast ending (31.5), the four-year-old colt defeated the two year older mare by 1.25 lengths. The third was Purhi, 3.75 lengths behind the winner and the fourth (last) Alnnajm (Mared Al Sahra – Arwima by Wachlarz) lost by 9.75 lengths. The time of the race on a slightly soft track (3.1) was average: 3’07.2 ” (10.1-39.6-35.2-36.3-34.5-31, 5) worse by 10 seconds than the track record of 2:56.3, set by Muqatil Al Khalediah in the Europa Cup 10 years ago.

Apollo del Sol wins the Stanisław Sałagaj Memorial

The second consecutive victory this season was achieved by the French four-year-old Apollo Del Sol (Al Mamun Monlau – Alloa Del Sol by Darweesh), trained in Wrocław by Justyna Domańska. First, on May 5th, he became the winner of the first race in a series of four races sponsored by Polska AKF called Al Khalediah Racing Festival 2021, and exactly a month later he triumphed in the Stanisław Sałagaj Memorial (1st group, 2000 m), who was first a great rider, and then an even better trainer who won the title of Trainer of the Year six times. The rivalry was very decent. Three horses advanced on the straight, the already mentioned Apollo Del Sol and Hosco de Bozouls (Maquet de Pascade – Jokmee de Bozouls by Jormane de Rouaisse) and the Polish Celebryk (Ontario HF – Cernike by Madaras Kossack) and fought for victory. The lengths at the wire were small. Apollo beat Hosco by a neck, who in turn overtook Celebryk by a nose. Hazim Al Khalediah, fourth on the finish line, lost 18 lengths to the aforementioned three. The time of the race on the 3.7 soft track was very good: 2’18.7 “(34.4-34.4-34.6-35.3). Apollo Del Sol is owned by Firma Handlowa “Paula” P. Szczucka. The very good disposition of Celebryk, trained by Paweł Talarek, makes him the second, next to Alsahr (he was fourth in the Tiwaiq Derby), favorite for the Derby 2021, which will be held on the 25th of July.

First scratches off the Derby line-up

June 16th marked the date of the first scratches from the Derby list. There are now 14 horses left:

Trainer Cornelia Fraisl:
1. KENJIY

Trainer Maciej Janikowski
1. ALSAHR

Trainer Maciej Kacprzyk
1. HAZIM AL KHALEDIAH

Trainer Małgorzata Kryszyłowicz
1. ECHARON

Trainer Andrzej Laskowski
1. EL NASIRA
2. HEFIRA GRAND

Trainer Małgorzata Łojek
1. EDMAR

Trainer Claudia Pawlak
1. TIREX

Trainer Piotr Piątkowski
1. DOBRA DYNASTIA

Trainer Kazimierz Rogowski
1. AL-WIR

Trainer Paweł Talarek
1. CELEBRYK

Trainer Sergey Vasyutov
1. BRAVOS
2. PILARGO

Trainer Adam Wyrzyk
1. HESS

Surprise in the Wathba Stallions Cup

After a very good debut (won easily by 18 lengths), the French Nash du Douze (Assy – Nuitella del Sol by Karbella), trained by Wojciech Olkowski, bred and owned by D. Bories, was a favorite in the first race of the Wathba Stallion Cup series – the Errlis Prize (1st gr. 3 year olds, 1600 m). However, when it came to a fight with his main competitor, trained in Wrocław and also French Suny du Loup (AF Albahar – Sirene du Loup by Al Sakbe), he did not live up to the task. He lost by 3.5 lengths. After the race, Nash’s rider Stefano Mura made a protest against Snazhar Abaev that he had prevented him from finishing around 200 meters before the finish line. Indeed, at one point, Mura theatrically paused his horse, suggesting that Suny was pressing Nash towards the fence. The Stewards decided that this incident had no effect on the result of the race, as Nash had already been defeated and approved the order at the wire. It is worth emphasizing the very good performance of two Polish-bred horses, the third at the finish line Farhat (Wares – Farha by Nougatin) and the fourth Atlas (Westim – Algama by Borysław), which succumbed little to the “French”. On the other hand, the third Polish horse, Omandor Gal (MerciMurhib Kossack – Ofirka Fata by Da Adios), who was leading in the distance, was eliminated. He lost 17.75 lengths to the winner.
Lengths at the wire: (3.5-2.5-0.75-11). The time of the race on the slightly soft track 3.0 was not bad: 1’53.4 (8.5-34.8-34.9-35.2). In less than a week, the main trial before the Derby, the race for the Janów Podlaski (Arabian Produce) St. (category A, 2600 m).