Horse Racing: Beethoven’s Qatar victories lead to World Cup night races
Beethoven, once again, claimed an impressive victory at Qatar and with that, news came of the horse’s connections confirming that Beethoven, currently four years of age and once trained by Aidan O’Brien, is headed towards the Dubai Carnival. Jockey Seb Sanders
has credited the victory completely to the horse, appreciating his brave performance.
The victory at HH The Heir Apparent Trophy held at the Al Rayyan racecourse in Doha, the capital of Qatar, is the second win in the two starts Beethoven participated in under his new trainer, Ahmed Kobeissi. In starts, Beethoven has beaten many an old rival
and had also managed to defeat his former stable mate at Ballydoyle, Ireland’s Joshua Tree.
Jockey Sanders was the man who rode Beethoven on both occasions that the horse won and has declared his pride and delight to reporters by saying that the horse’s performance was brilliant, especially considering that it was the longest trip that he has taken
–one mile and three furlongs.
Sanders, when asked how he felt about this second win, answered reporters that he was glad as he and Beethoven took over three and a half seconds off the track record and that he was proud of the fact that Joshua Tree, a Group 1 winner, was among the many
amazing racehorses that him and his partner left behind. All in all, the rider was quite satisfied with Beethoven’s performance, and his own.
Sanders also told reporters that judging by the spectacular show that all horses put on for the race; it is quite clear that all competitors in Qatar are tough and that those going on to the Dubai Carnival will, no doubt, be the cream of the crop.
Beethoven has recently become one of the fourteen racehorses trained by Ahmed Kobeissi for the owner, Mohammed Kazim Al Ansari, who is just as excited as the jockey about the horse’s progress and possible future plans. The four-year-old horse was also the
winner of the Dewhurst under former trainer O’Brien.
Owner Al Ansari has told reporters that he does indeed fully intend to take Beethoven to Dubai and the Carnival, where the possible targets will be the two Group 1 turf races on World Cup night.
The owner tells reporters: “There is a big international race here in Qatar in about three weeks’ time which he will be entered in and we would love to win the HH The Emir Sword with him.”
Al Ansari further informs reporters that, “After Dubai, we will look at Hong Kong and Singapore and hopefully fly the Qatar flag on the international stage, any such success will only encourage more owners to buy top-class horses to race from Qatar.”