Laffan (in front) with Maxime Guyon aboard charges towards the finish.
Doha: Laffan extended his unbeaten run with a commanding victory in the QREC-sponsored Gr1 PA Al Rayyan Cup (Prix Kesberoy) at Deauville yesterday.
The son of AF Al Buraq produced an authoritative performance in the 2000-metre race reserved for 3-year-old Purebred Arabians.
Following the win, Mohammed bin Hamad bin Ali Al-Attiyah and Ali bin Hamad bin Ali Al-Attiyah received the trophies, with Khalifa bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, QREC Board Member, presenting the awards to the winning connections.
Trained by Francois Rohaut, ridden by Maxime Guyon, and owned and bred by Al Wasmiyah Racing, the bay colt has now won all three of his career starts, having debuted successfully at Bordeaux before capturing the Gr.2 (PA) Qatar Coupe de France des Chevaux Arabes at La Teste in June.
Faced with a small, but select field of five runners, Laffan stepped up in both trip and class and confirmed his place among the elite of his generation with a determined performance.
After a good start, Laffan settled in second behind Amjaad (Azadi) in the early stages before taking over the lead just before the back straight. He then steadied the pace, with the favourite Romeo AT (Af Al Buraq) racing keenly in fourth behind Subahiyah (Mahabb) while the sole unraced colt of the field brought up the rear.
With the tempo remaining moderate until the final bend, Laffan was the first to make a move, quickening smartly off the turn to open up a two-length advantage.
Subahiyah gave chase from second while Romeo AT had plenty to do, but began a wide, determined run down the outside. Inside the final 200 metres, Laffan was still in front as his rivals closed in, but the colt showed great tenacity to cling on, holding off the favourite by a short head. Romeo AT had to settle for second, with Subahiyah close up in third.
Winning trainer Rohaut said after the race: “He was the only one who didn’t pull. Being in front, he relaxed well and breathed easily. Subahiyah pulled a little, Roméo At pulled a lot. It’s good."
He deserved to win his race today. He was the one who deserved it the most out of the three. He won it. That’s great. It shows that he’s truly a good horse. Now, we’ll head calmly to Saint-Cloud without any pressure. What he did today was beautiful. I’m really happy," he added.
Bred by Al Wasmiyah Racing, Laffan is out of Ajaayib (Mahabb), a winner over 1650 metres at three and 1500 metres at four.
Ajaayib is a half-sister to Moshrif (Dahess), a dual Gr.1 (PA) winner over 2000m and 2200m, and to Muraaqib (Munjiz), a five-time Gr.1 (PA) winner from 1600m to 2000m between the ages of three and six.
