Bahrain Trophy

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Lead Artist (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) heads the entries for the $1 Million Bahrain International Trophy on Friday November 15.  The Group 2 contest has attracted runners from Great Britain, Ireland, France and Japan. The field includes last year's winner, Spirit Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}), along with this year's Arlington Million winner, Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), and the Japanese-trained Group 1 scorer, Killer Ability (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), the mount of British champion jockey, Oisin Murphy.   Lead Artist is the only three-year-old in the line-up....

In the pantheon of the promotional stakes, the Sir Alex Ferguson-owned Spirit Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}) winning the $1 million G2 Bahrain International Trophy would have ranked pretty highly as a dream result for everyone associated with this relatively new race.  To have one of the most recognisable sporting figures in the world in attendance all week was something, but for Spirit Dancer to play with his rivals in a similar fashion to some of the best teams Ferguson assembled at the helm of Manchester United exceeded all expectations.  You...

Charlie Appleby says Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) will line out in Friday's $1m Bahrain International Trophy with a favourite's chance but admitted that stall 12 could make things tricky for the dual Group 1 winner as Godolphin ready a five-strong team for the Group 2 contest. Last seen winning the G1 Canadian International in October, Nations Pride will be joined by stablemate Highland Avenue (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), with William Buick opting to ride the former in his bid to win the race for a first time. Appleby said, "Nations...

Daniel and Claire Kubler have described running stable star Astro King in Friday's $1m Bahrain Trophy as something "dreams are made of" as the husband-and-wife training duo bid to prove that you don't need to spend massive amounts at the sales to secure big-race riches on the track.  A 36,000gns purchase from the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale last year, Astro King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) netted connections £103,080 when landing the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket in September. That performance came after Astro King cashed in a £51,540 cheque for winning a Heritage...