The third round of this season’s Bahrain Turf Series takes place on Friday at the Rashid Equestrian & Horseracing Club, with the action live on Racing TV.
Both the sprint and middle-distance divisions have attracted high-class, competitive fields as local and international horses do battle in the $80,000 races.
The middle-distance race is the Al Adiyat Cup (sponsored by YBA Kanoo), run over nine furlongs (1800m) and a conditions race rather than a handicap, and it sees the Bahrain debuts of two talented international horses, the Charlie Johnston-trained Dear My Friend and George’s Scott’s Phantom Flight.
A dual Listed race winner on synthetic surfaces in the UK, Dear My Friend is bidding to transfer that form onto the turf in Bahrain. If he does, he will be a contender for the Kingdom’s upcoming premier races, starting with the prestigious Crown Prince’s Cup on 31st January.
The trainer of the winner of the 2024 running of the Crown Prince’s Cup, Scott, is hoping that Phantom Flight can follow in the hoof-prints of Isle Of Jura and he has high hopes for the horse, who also won a Listed race in the UK in 2024. Callum Shepherd, Isle Of Jura’s regular rider, recently returned to action from injury and he flies out from the UK to take the mount on Phantom Flight.
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Scott said: “Phantom Flight is a really interesting horse. He's rated 110. He loves fast ground and he is potentially a really exciting horse for us in Bahrain. It's going to be fascinating to see how he acquits himself.”
The opposition to Dear My Friend and Phantom Flight includes some of the highest rated horses trained in Bahrain, led by last season’s winner of the Al Adiyat Cup, Zagato, who shares Phantom Flight’s handicap rating of 110, while rated just behind on 109 is Sovereign Spirit.
The sprint division, the Al Wasmiya Cup (sponsored by National Bank of Bahrain), is also a conditions race and is run over the minimum trip of 5f (1000m).
The highest rated in the field at 105 is Swift Asset, trained by Jaber Ramadhan and who stormed to victory on the opening day of the 2024-25 Bahrain Turf Series. If reproducing that speed and that form, Swift Asset will be hard to beat and if winning he would return to the top of the leader board in the sprint division of the Bahrain Turf Series and be on course for the bonus prizes awarded to the horse accumulating most points throughout the series. Currently, Swift Asset is one point behind last Friday’s sprint winner, Spangled Mac, who does not run this week.
The international challenge in the sprint is comprised of two George Baker-trained horses, the Stewards’ Cup victor and previous Bahrain Turf Series race winner, Get It, and Kiwano, who also has course winning form in Bahrain.