Dettori and Dubday deliver late burst to win the HH The Emir’s Trophy

Both races were Group 1 contests run over a distance over 2,400m, but victories in both were completed in contrasting styles with Al Mourtajez marked his first appearance in Qatar with an all-the-way success while Dubday got to the front in the final six strides.

Both races were part of the eight-day HH The Emir 24th International Equestrian Sword Festival.

In the HH The Emir's Trophy, Dubday, Qatar’s champion thoroughbred, produced an electric finish under Frankie Dettori to extend his 100 per cent record in his adopted home.

A year on from giving Al Shaqab a first win in the now familiar maroon and grey silks in this race, Dubday delivered a powerful blast of acceleration up the straight to win cosily after giving Dettori some concern.

Dubday, whose trainer Jassim Al Ghazali saddled five winners on the card, had travelled towards the back of the pack after breaking from stall 16 of 16 and was brought into the home straight some way off the rail.

The one to catch was Ponfeigh, who was beaten by just half a length by Dubday at the same venue three weeks earlier.

It looked as if revenge was on the cards until, as Dettori said, the turbo kicked in. This time the margin was a neck with half a length to last year's runner up Peter Anders, improving Dubday's record in Qatar to six from six.

Dubday, who provided trainer Al Ghazali with his 11th win over the three-day meeting, leapfrogged Roman Legend and Taraf as Qatar’s highest prize-money earner of the season, with a tally of 2.28 million riyals.

His next race will be at Meydan in Dubai next month, where he will attempt to put the disappointment of an unfortunate run in last year’s Sheema Classic behind him when racing in the Dubai Gold Cup over 1,600m.

In HH The Emir's Sword, Al Shaqab Racing doubled up in the Group 1 races as the new Arabian racing star Al Mourtazez galloped clear of his six rivals to give the French trainer and jockey combination of Thomas Fourcy and Julien Auge a night to remember.

Auge set out to make the running at a steady pace on Al Mourtajez, which appeared not to suit some of the other runners, and he increased the tempo before the final turn.

The five-year-old grey never looked like being caught by local favourite and 2013 Qatar Derby winner Djainka Des Forge, who gave chase and emerged best of three runners for HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani and trainer Julian Smart.

They had no answer however to the leader who stayed on well, taking the honours on the line by a length and a half, with Al Maj’Hoor, a stablemate of Djainka Des Forges, three lengths away in third place.