Bahrain Turf Series returns this weekend at REHC

TDT | Manama                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com 

The prestigious Bahrain Turf Series returns Friday at Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club (REHC) in Sakhir, with the first two of 10 high-profile events.

The Al Manama Cup, sponsored by BBK, and the Al Muharraq Cup, sponsored by Sayacorp, will each be offering £60,000 in total prize money, up from £50,000 last season.

Amongst the top world-renowned trainers with potential runners this weekend are George Baker, Jamie Osborne, Michael Appleby, Keith Dalgleish, Richard Fahey, David O’Meara, Hugo Palmer and Niels Petersen.

They will be going up against Bahrain’s best, who include Hesham Al Haddad, Osama Hashim, AM Smith, Yousif Taher, Hareb Almalki, Mohammed Hasan and Haider Ebrahim, to name a few.

The inaugural Bahrain Turf Series last season saw a pair of exciting races for the Al Manama Cup and Al Muharraq Cup.

The former was claimed by M and E Racing’s Happy Craf, trained by Smith and ridden by Edinson Rodriguez; while the latter was lifted by Mars Landing, owned by Al Mohamediya Racing, trained by Al Haddad and saddled by Neil Callan.

The 10 events this season are set to take place across five race days, with the final race day being held on 17 February.

The Bahrain Turf Series will have a bonus-point system attached depending on where horses finish. The points will be added at the end of the series.

Like last year, there will be two Pots: Pot A will be for horses racing over five and six furlongs (1,000 metres and 1,200m) and Pot B for nine and 10 furlongs (1,800m and 2,000m).

The owner of the horse with the most points in each pot will get £15,000 and the trainer of the horse with most points will get £10,000. This means an extra £50,000 in total prize money.