King of Deauville: a first European Group win for Hamad Al-Jehani

He is, of course, no stranger to important victories – after all, his charge Jeff Koons won the latest running of the Qatar Derby – but Wathnan Racing’s trainer Hamad Al-Jehani ticked off a momentous career milestone with the victory of Make Me King in the G3 Prix Quincey on the Grand Prix undercard at Deauville this afternoon.

This first European Group win for the Qatari national came with the minimum of fuss. Make Me King had been Al-Jehani’s first winner trained from his new Newmarket satellite yard, and made no mistake at garnering another significant victory.

The dappled grey, so imposing in the dappled shade of the parade ring, won with handsome ease on this return to France (he’d been trained there as a younger horse) and has now earned a chance at an even deeper contest before returning to Qatar for the winter season.