Lucander lifts HH Shaikh Nasser Cup

The race was worth £66,667 to the winner. Lucander’s impressive success saw him beat some of the best racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with Zagato in second and Tawaareq in third.

In total this season, Lucander has scooped £114,844 in prize money for owners Nigel Jones and Paul Bowden.

Yesterday also saw the finale of The Bahrain Turf Series with Devaste, under Neil Callan, taking the final sprint race and Goemon, in the hands of Andrea Atzeni, winning the The Vision 2030 Cup over 1m2f.

Reflecting on the 2022/23 Bahrain Turf Series, His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Chairman of The Bahrain Turf Club, said: “We have welcomed more connections from around the world to The Kingdom of Bahrain this season, with 20 international horses competing in the second year of the Bahrain Turf Series.

“We have seen some very competitive racing throughout the Turf Series and it’s been brilliant to see leading international trainers Charlie Appleby, David O’Meara and George Baker enjoy success in the Kingdom. “We are looking forward to evolving the Tuf Series further and welcoming international connections back in Bahrain next season.”

In total, international horses have scooped up £182,400 from the 10 Bahrain Turf Series Races so far (£600,000 total available) which equates to 30.4 per cent of the prize money.

The three international winners were Lucander (George Baker), Nomadic Empire (David O’Meara) and King Of Conquest (Charlie Appleby). Devaste landed the £60,000 Al Sakhir Cup over 6f, under Neil Callan for trainer Hesham Al Haddad.

Despite being drawn 18 of 18 and away from the pace, Devaste quickened well in the final stretch of the race under Callan to get the better of the two Al Adiyat-owned horses Pure Dreamer and Rebel At Dawn.

Regular Bahrain Turf Series winning jockey and retained rider for Al Mohamediya Racing, Neil Callan, said following the race: “I was a little worried half way in the race as the far side had a big advantage on us and in this head wind I thought they were going quite hard but he got there quite comfortably and he quickened really well, it was a nice performance.”

Callan added: “He won very well first time up here in a lesser race and watching his race last time he was actually unlucky but I didn’t think he was quite ready mentally for a series race.

His work since then has been very good and he felt like he had matured.”

The Vision 2030 Cup went to Goemon under Andrea Atzeni who just got the better of Merlin’s Beard in a pulsating finish. It was a first Turf Series victory for Andrea Atzeni who gave his retained owner MKAR Racing a big-race success.

The Jamie Osborne-trained Inigo Jones secured more prize-money after finishing a gallant third under young rider Connor Planas.

Atzeni, who has been based in Bahrain for the season said after the race: “I’ve been close in a few Turf Series races but it’s always nice to win one.

They aren’t easy to win and you need the right horse, so we were lucky enough to have a horse like Goemon who was good enough to win one.”

Goemon was successful twice on the all-weather in England, once for Roger Varian and once for Kevin Philippart De Foy and Atzeni believes he has a big future.

He said: “For a four-yearold he is very lightly raced. He’s a horse who is getting better with racing.

The next step could be The King’s Cup next month, but I do think he’s going to be even better next year.”

Atzeni paid tribute to the owner: “I’ve been riding for MKAR for a long time, and I’ve been very lucky for them.

They’re buying a lot of horses, but at the same time, they breed their own horses which is a big plus.

They are good people to ride for and I’m delighted to have ridden a big winner for them.”