Horseracing’s best set for Bahrain return

TDT | Manama                                               

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The excitement is building as a new season of top-class racing will return to Bahrain this winter. The hugely prestigious Group Three Bahrain International Trophy, won by Lord Glitters last year, will take place on November 18.

Meanwhile, the Bahrain Turf Series will be returning for a second year. The 10-race series, which starts in December, will take place over five race days, with the final Series race day taking place in February.

David O’Meara, trainer of last year’s winner of the Bahrain International Trophy with Lord Glitters, is planning more big race success with his stable star. He said: “This time of year is tough for him (Lord Glitters) at his age. He has to give away weight everywhere he goes due to his winter exploits.

“He won a Queen Anne at Royal Ascot when he was in his pomp. I guess we’re looking at the Strensall Stakes or the York Stakes as options for him. “He’s not getting any younger and there will come a point when his body starts to tell us that he has had enough. “Can we do another winter? He’s been busy enough the last few but hopefully if we can, the Bahrain International Trophy is number one on the agenda if he’s fit and well and is telling us he has the appetite for it.”

O’Meara visited Bahrain for the first-time last year and spoke very highly of his experence. He and his owners are also looking to target the Bahrain Turf Series this winter. He added: “We enjoyed our trip over there. Chris Dixon came over with me and I found it a nice and relaxed atmosphere and it was easy to get around. It was a very pleasant venue to visit. We’ll try and send a team over for the Bahrain Turf Series if we can.

“We’ve got owners who are making noises about wanting to have runners out there this winter so it would be great to have a few to send out and have an excuse for a winter holiday.”

Enjoyed

Multiple Classic winning jockey James Doyle has enjoyed many trips to Bahrain including earlier this year when he won aboard Silent Film in the penultimate Bahrain Turf Series race, the Al Sakhir Cup, and has noticed how racing is evolving in Bahrain.

He said: “I’ve been lucky enough to come to Bahrain for a number of years now, His Highness Shaikh Isa first brought me here. It’s nice to keep coming back and see how things are evolving. Year on year the track seems to ride a bit nicer, and the races seem to be getting more competitive.

“The new Turf Series has obviously brought quite a few of the UK trainers out and I’ve certainly seen a big improvement from my first days coming out so it’s certainly going to be a force to be reckoned with going forward. Fantastic that these Middle Eastern countries are really getting behind horse racing.”

Shaikh Salman bin Rashed Al Khalifa, Executive Director of the Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club said: “It continues to be an incredibly exciting time for horse racing in Bahrain. We have been blown away with the amount of quality trainers, jockeys and horses who have come to race in Bahrain since the first Bahrain International Trophy in 2019.

“It was fantastic to see dual Group One winner Lord Glitters fight out a thrilling finish with four-time Group One winner Barney Roy in last year’s Group Three Bahrain International Trophy and then have so many top trainers competing in the first-ever Bahrain Turf Series. “We look forward to welcoming trainers, jockeys, and owners back in the Kingdom of Bahrain this winter.”