Riders in action during the Prix Cheri Bibi.
Toulouse: The finish of the Prix Cheri Bibi (Gr3 PA) was hotly contested. With just 400m to the final post, the seven runners were still all together making it nearly impossible to predict the winner.
In the final strides, HM Jalfane (Dahess x Al Musck), running in the colours of Abdullah bin Fahad Al Attiyah, came with a late run, with Julien Auge in the saddle, to snatch victory by a quarter of a length.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Faleh Al Thani’s homebred A’them Bahar (AF Albahar x Gold Label) finished runner-up for trainer Mrs F. Bernard and jockey Ioritz Mendizabal. Al Shaqab Racing’s homebred Alhafar (Al Mamun Monlau x Farh) came in third by further one and a quarter lengths for the same trainer of the runner-up and jockey Jean-Bernard Eyquem.
Thomas Fourcy, who trains the winner, commented: “He gave me a scare on his debut as he sat in last position for a long time. He gave me a bit of a scare today too despite having a better position in running. At one point in the straight, I thought he was going to be last, but when Julien Augé asked him, he responded well like a good horse."
"In the future, he will be better over 2,000m. It’s a good result for his new owner,” he added.
Bred by Hassan Mousli and Nada Mousalli, HM Jalfane is a son of Dahess and out of Al Musck (Azadi). Flamme De Syrah Passem), the second dam, produced two Group winners, Al Jalfane (Djouras Tu), winner of three Al Maktoum Challenges (Gr1 PA), and Jawad Al Kheir (Kesberoy), winner of the Jumeyrah International Stakes (Gr2 PA).
