The sweep was a milestone for Yas Racing and was
completed by the work of two trainers. Hayyan (Munjiz
x Dahwa by Tidjani) is trained by Frederic Sanchez,
while Deryan (Mahabb x Haboob by Akbar) and
Kanaan (Sarrab x Shamayl by Kesberoy) are trained
by Didier Guillemin.
Hayyan had won important races in the past –
notably the Group 2 French Arabian Breeders’
Challenge Stakes for three-year-old males at
Toulouse last October – but the Qatar Derby is one of
the most prestigious races in Europe for the division.
Hayyan was a longshot, at 45-1, and was fifth
behind Deryan in the Group 3 Prix Dormane at La
Teste in late April in a prep race.
“Everything went like a dream, although the horse
pulled a bit,” said Sanchez, who recorded his first
Group 1 win.
Mendizabal, who has ridden Hayyan in all five of his
career starts, positioned his mount in the middle of
the field for the first half of the race at 2,000 meters,
or about 1 ¼ miles. Ibn Gadir, also owned by Yas
Racing, set an early pace, but was challenged in the
stretch by Deryan, who led with about 300 meters to
go. Hayyan, racing outside of Deryan, caught the
leader with 200 meters remaining to secure the
upset win.
Mendizabal was delighted Hayyan was able to run
well within himself in the stretch. “Going to the final
350 meters, we were traveling too easily, and I had to
restrain the horse,” he told the press. “Over 1,600
meters, he’s a genuine Group 1 class horse, and that’s
why I was worried about today’s trip. The horse put
those worries to bed.”
Hayyan runs with a hood and is fitted with earplugs
to prevent distractions. Mendizabal said he rode
Hayyan in an early June workout that provided
valuable clues regarding the colt’s habits.
“He’s a sweet-natured horse, but with a tendency,
occasionally, to become headstrong,” he said. “The
fact I was able to ride him in the morning made me
aware of this.”
The result was a surprise to the Yas Racing team,
notably racing manager Thierry Delegue. “I’m not
going to hide the fact Deryan was our number one
hope,” he told the press. “However, we’ve always held
Hayyan in high regard. The main difficulty with him is
getting him to relax. Granted the presence of a
pacemaker, and that a (truly) run race materialized,
the conditions proved ideal for him.
“The colt managed to relax, which wasn’t the case
on his prior outing at La Teste when the pace wasn’t
taxing enough for him. On this occasion, he managed
to get a breather before unleashing his turn of foot,
which is a pretty impressive one.”
The Qatar Derby was Hayyan’s first start at 1 ¼
miles, and the longest race of his career. A win at the
distance is a good sign for Hayyan, since many of the
top-class races are run at that distance.
“We weren’t sure that he had the required stamina
to stay behind 1,600 meters, but he proved that he
had the ability to do this,” Delegue said.
Deryan has been second in three Group 1 races.
Last year, he was runner-up in the Al Rayyan Cup at
Deauville in August, a race historically known as the
Prix Kesberoy, and in the Qatar Arabian Trophy Des
Poulains at Saint Cloud in October.
The third-place finish by Kanaan was his first
appearance in a race at the highest level. He won
stakes in Casablanca last November and in Rome
in April.
“We have a great crop of four-year-olds, which
reflects the exceptional quality of our breeding
operation,” Delegue said. “We couldn’t have hoped
for a better result. You must take great care not to
ask too much of these horses too soon, but we had
staked a lot on the outcome of this race.”
The Qatar Derby was run on the same program as
the Prix de Diane, the French Oaks, the country’s
leading race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies.
Five days later, on June 21, Arabians were once
again part of an important program at Chantilly
when Meethag won the Group 2 Qatar Coupe De
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