SAKHIR, Bahrain – Old habits die hard. Neil MacKenzie Ross may have been Secretary of the Course at Sakhir Racecourse in Bahrain for the past seven years but even in the 24 degree heat at 7am, the former England player is still easily recognizable in the green matches. which he certainly completed a lot of Lingfield’s first round when he took on the same role at Sussex.
“There was quite a bit of fog,” he said with a defensive smile as he awaited the arrival of 14 runners for the Bahrain International Trophy Friday for morning exercise on the pristine grass.
Right in front of the horses, Rashid Riding and Riding Club President, Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, appeared to greet the growing pool of international visitors at Sakhir racecourse for the race big.
In just its third year, the initial highlight of Bahrain’s 27-match race schedule has been elevated to Group 3 level for the first time in 2021 and it has attracted a host of athletes from Bahrain, England. , Ireland, France and Germany. that state.
Fewer people are more passionate about the development of equestrianism in Bahrain than Shaikh Isa, the King’s grandson and a lifelong equestrian also trained in England. After Friday’s meeting, his focus will turn to the upcoming start of a new 10-stage Bahrain Turf Series that it hopes will draw similar international participation.
“I was very nervous when I saw Neil this morning,” said smiling Shaikh Isa during the International Cup draw. “As in the first year with Bahrain International, it was a strong race but the guys I felt were just testing underwater, and now I feel they have dropped in the second and third years. The Turf Series is also moving in that direction.”
Worth a total of £500,000, this year’s Bahrain International Trophy attracted four Godolphin entries from three different coaches. Charlie Appleby, recently won the Breeders’ Cup treble and is on his way to becoming a first-time British champion coach, fills in two of them, current favorite Zakouski (GB) (Shamardal) Now, last month’s winner of Ben Marshall S. . in his first start in 261 days and 7-year-old Group 1 winner Barney Roy (GB), 7 years old, has won Group 1 4 times (Celebrity {Ire}). The latter scored the first of those top-tier wins by three in St James’s Palace S. while trained by Richard Hannon and, after a period of health care being shunned for infertility , he joined Appleby’s stable in 2019 and added a trio of Group 1 to his record last year in Dubai and Germany.
Godolphin’s France-trained Magny Cours (Medaglia d’Oro) are currently the second favorite for the 10-point competition after some consistent performances this season, including a first-place win at the G3 Prix Perth and a third-place finish in Dubai. World Cup in March. The 6-year-old, who will take the red hat from counter 10, will become Andre Fabre’s first runner-up in Bahrain. The quartet with royal blue was completed by Dubai Future (GB) trained by Saeed Bin Suroor (Dubawi {Ire}), who is Frankie Dettori’s mount.
Betting might suggest otherwise, but the biggest fan favorite for Friday’s main event is the striking gray Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) of the Turnbull family. The famous 8-year-old was last seen in action winning the G1 Jebel Hatta in March but still seems to retain a lot of enthusiasm. His trainer David O’Meara and track athlete Jason Watson arrived in Bahrain on Tuesday night, and Watson was on board the Lord Glitters as he started the track in the company of Fev Rover (Ire). (Gutaifan {Ire}) about 12 hours later.
“He’s an old horse now but the ability is still there and he thrived in this part of the world with the heat in his joints,” O’Meara said later. in a draw of 12 for his Group 1 double winner.
Yorkshire-based Fev Rover is one of two 3-year-olds in the field and her coach Richard Fahey also made the trip to Bahrain. He performed better in the draw with 4th place going to individual driver owned by Nick Bradley Racing, who finished third in the 1000 Guineas.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to run this more than a mile and a half on quick ground,” said Fahey, who laughs adding, “I’ve been trying to find the ground quickly throughout the season in Europe and every It’s been raining for a whole week when I entered her, so I’m just warning everyone that it might rain heavily tomorrow in Bahrain. ”
German coach Andreas Suborics recently took over coaching Penja (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) from Jean-Claude Rouget after the winner of Group 3 was sold for 1.2 million euros to Jurgen Sartori at the Arqana Arc Sale. The 3-year-old will be reunited on Friday with Cristian Demuro, who has carried her for all five starts in France this season.
“She only came to my barn six weeks ago but she arrived in perfect condition,” Penja’s Suborics said after painting the eighth stall. “I couldn’t be happier to be with her right now. She had a lush canter this morning and we have some good gates. She’s going to love the fast ground and nowhere else we can find good ground this time of year so everything is positive so far. Of course it’s not easy for a 3-year-old to go up against these older, more experienced horses but we are confident he will do well and if he gets into the first four we will. very happy. ”
Ireland is represented by the Cadillac (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) coached by Jessica Harrington, who has been ridden by Shane Foley in an easy canter on the pitch and who has Richie, Emma Galway and Patrick Cooper on the team. his support in Bahrain this week.
Pogo (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}) and Victory Chime (Ire) (Campanologist) fuel the British challenge, representing the stables of Charlie Hills and Ralph Beckett, while a strong local defense will launched by top Bahrain coach Fawzi Nass, who won the International Cup last year with Simsir (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}).
The leading light from Nass’ fugitive trio seems to be his recent recruit Emperor Of The Sun (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Zoustar’s 4-year-old half-brother. (Aus), who had been trained by Donnacha O’ before. Brien.
“I’ve only seen him for a few days – for the last six weeks he’s been with John O’Donoghue in Ireland so we’ve only seen him here for the last five or six days but he seems fine,” says Nass , who will also protect Naamoos (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Qaader (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), while his compatriot A Jaleel Al Mallah issues an invitation to outsiders What A Welcome (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) .
It is clear that the team behind the race in the Kingdom of Bahrain have their vision of bigger things to come, starting with the launch of the £550,000 Lawn Series on December 10. But for now, International Pattern recognition is a source of satisfaction. for Shaikh Isa.
“It’s been three years in the making and we’ve got Group 3 status now but we need to build on that,” he said. “We will not stop at a Group of 3.”
