Qatar

Wrapping up Day 29 in Qatar, the final race on the Thursday card brought together a well-matched field of 3-year-old colts that were vying for a black-type prize. After a pair of scratches, out of the remaining 16 runners, Emperor Maximus proved best, but it was not a foregone conclusion that he would be able to make the leap in company after campaigning on-track at lower levels on three prior occasions. Just last week Dec. 22, the colt won a handicap against 13 others by 1 3/4 lengths, but he...

The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) this week announced significant purse increases for the 2023 three-day racing H.H. The Amir Festival, including a boost to $2.5 million for the signature H.H. The Amir Trophy. The festival--which is set for Feb. 16-18 and falls a week before the $20 million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack--will again be contested at Al Rayyan Racecourse. The H.H. The Amir Trophy, which was previously worth $1 million, is a 1 1/2-mile turf test for 3-year-olds and up. "Certainly, raising the value of...

   Few people left an imprint at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale quite like Olly Tait. Under the banner of the newly-formed and Qatari-backed Wathnan Racing, Tait signed for nine horses to the tune of 1.75 million gns, headed by 450,000gns purchase Persian Royal (GB) (Al Kazeem {GB}).    Fitting that Tait has been tasked with growing Wathnan Racing into a formidable ownership vehicle in Qatar as it was the Australian native who was entrusted by Godolphin to get their Darley operation off the ground down under back...

A stakes winner in England and stakes-performed in France and in Sweden, Outbox (GB) (Frankel {GB}) added a stamp from Qatar to his passport for Saturday's His Highness The Amir Trophy in Doha and walked away with the lion's share of the US$1-million in prize money on offer. The Amir Trophy is one of three races contested locall that is recognized internationally as black-type eligible. Ridden aggressively from a wide alley by Hollie Doyle, Outbox took up a pace-pressing position from second, as Qatari Gold (Lemon Drop Kid), with Tom...

It is racing's greatest dichotomy. Labelled by the official ParisLongchamp website as "la meilleure course au monde", the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will have few who brook any argument with that claim. Yet it is the time of year within which it is framed that delivers the ultimate snag, with autumn's entry prompting an often drastic change in terrain and a late turnpike for the kings and queens of summer just past. Half of the previous 10 renewals of France's great monument have been run on testing...

Making a remarkable fifth straight appearance in the marquee race on the Qatar racing calendar, the US$1-million H.H. The Amir Trophy, Al Wasmiyah Farm's Noor Al Hawa (Fr) (Makfi {GB}) took advantage of a soft trip attending a modest pace and raced away to a convincing victory Saturday in Doha. Berkshire Rocco (Fr) (Sir Percy {GB}), who nearly took out the 2020 G1 St Leger S., came home second ahead of last year's Qatar Derby hero Hellenistique (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in third. The Amir Trophy is one of three...

A winner at the highest level in Germany and victorious in group races in France and England, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Thani's homebred Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}) appears the class of the field as he makes his Qatar debut in Saturday's US$1-million H H Amir Trophy (2400m) at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha. The lightly raced 6-year-old won the G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly and G1 Preis von Europa in 2019 while under the care of Roger Charlton and punched his ticket to the G1 Cox Plate with...

Trainer Ado McGuinness is sending Shamrock Thoroughbreds' Harry's Bar (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) to the $1.5-million Saudi Arabian Airlines Riyadh Dirt Sprint on the $20-million Saudi Cup undercard on Feb. 20. A 75,000gns purchase out of the Tattersalls HIT Sale last October, the 6-year-old gelding saluted in the Listed Belgrave S. on Nov. 6 and took a six-panel contest on Feb. 5, both over the Dundalk synthetic. "He's in great form," said McGuinness. "He's come back 100% from his last race, he's cantering away and he's heading out to...

Three European Group 1 winners feature among a cast of 75 international entries for Qatar's biggest racing fixture, the HH The Amir Sword Festival. Last week's G2 Singspiel S. winner Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) has been entered for the $1 million HH The Amir Trophy, the Longines-sponsored feature race for Thoroughbreds on Feb. 20 at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha, along with Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}), who is owned by Qatar's HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani, and 6-year-old Intellogent (Ire) (Intello {Ger}). The latter has raced in...

by Alan Carasso Locally owned, but French-based French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}) was given a perfect ride from the front by Olivier Peslier and proved not for catching, successfully defending his title in the US$1-million HH The Amir Trophy Saturday at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha. American import Standard Deviation (Curlin) rallied from midpack to be an excellent second, while Pedro Cara (Fr) (Pedro the Great) backed up his last-out Qatar Derby success with a running-on third-place effort. Away beautifully from gate one, the clean chestnut entire headed off...

by Alan Carasso The three-day HH The Amir Festival comes to a conclusion with the marquee race of the meeting, the US$1-million HH The Amir Trophy, a race which has attracted last year's top-three placegetters, a local legend looking for a third win in the event, an intriguing American import and some of the world's top jockeys. The locally owned French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}) defeated Royal Julius (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB}) and the well-traveled Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) with relative ease 12 months ago and proved the...

Among the 321-strong entries for His Highness The Amir Sword Festival in Qatar are 105 overseas horses set to contest the $2.95-million six-race card at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Qatar on Feb. 21-22. There are two $1-million races on tap, one for Thoroughbreds--the 2400-metre HH The Amir Trophy presented by Longines. 2019's winner, G1SW French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}), squares off against the second-fourth-Royal Julius (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB}), Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), and The Blue Eye (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Fellow German Group 1 winner Aspetar (Fr) (Al...