'Dragon' To Tackle Qatar Derby

Scarlet Dragon | Racing Post

Mark Johnston confirmed earlier in the week that a trip to Qatar for the Al Rayyan S. Dec. 28 was on the cards for his recent winner Masham Star (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) and another British trainer with an eye on the festival is Eve Johnson-Houghton. Her Scarlet Dragon (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) has been invited to run in the Qatar Derby at Al Rayyan Dec. 29 and connections are keen to accept the offer with the 3-year-old gelding, who was last seen winning the valuable Godolphin Flying Start Old Rowley Cup at Newmarket in October. That win saw his rating elevated to 109 and owner Henry Ponsonby has moved to secure the services of Britain's champion jockey Jim Crowley for the occasion.

“Scarlet Dragon has been invited to Qatar and is due to run in the Qatar Derby, which is for 3-year-olds over 10 furlongs,” said Ponsonby. “Jim Crowley has agreed to ride him so it is all very exciting. We are still in the process of making all the plans but we're looking forward to it.”

Last year's Derby saw a real international result when Rogue Runner (Ger) (King's Best), trained in Germany by Mario Hofer dead heated with the Mike de Kock trained Tannaaf (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}).

 

Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.

Copy Article Link

X

Never miss another story from the TDN

Click Here to sign up for a free subscription.