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Fabre gelding takes fast-track qualifier honours in style.

Duhail  ensured an automatic invitation to Lingfield's all-weather finals day next month with an emphatic victory in the fast-track qualifier Prix Anabaa at Chantilly.

The Betway All-Weather Sprint Championship on Good Friday is a date in the diary for Andre Fabre's five-year-old, who was returning from a break of more than four months since his previous success at ParisLongchamp.

Duhail, ridden by Vincent Cheminaud, easily justified his status as 6-5 favourite, by four lengths from Golden Boy.

Fourth of the eight runners in the early stages, he made smooth headway to challenge approaching the final furlong and then quickened well to move clear of Golden Boy, with German challenger Coco City staying on to be third.

Duhail therefore has a perfect two-from-two all-weather record, having also won at Deauville last summer.

Rupert Pritchard-Gordon, racing manager for winning owners Al Shaqab Racing, said: "That was very pleasing, particularly because Duhail was running against some horses who are specialists on this surface – although he has already won on the all-weather.

"We know he is just as effective on soft ground. He won the handicap off top weight at the end of the year on heavy ground, so he is very versatile.

"Duhail will need to improve another 5lb to be competitive in those Group Three and Group Two races, but he could do because he doesn't have many miles on the clock.

"Hopefully, now he is a fully mature horse turning five, he will be one to look forward to in some of those nice seven-furlong races."