Bahrain report: Calif strikes in race named in honour of his owner

Calif, a Group One winner and so often a flagbearer for Bahrain in international races, bounced back to form in the HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa Cup (sponsored by Bapco Energies), the race named in honour of his owner. 

Remarkably, despite being one of the best-known horses trained in the Kingdom, this was Calif’s first victory in Bahrain and also his first since landing a Group 1 in Germany in 2024. The runner-up in the Listed event was Bedouin Prince, representing Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick, with Panning For Gold in third. 

Trained by Fawzi Nass and ridden by French jockey Stephane Ladjadj, Calif came with a sustained run down the outside to collar Bedouin Prince and Panning For Gold in the closing stages after a strongly run race. 

An emotional winning rider, Stephane Ladjadj, said afterwards: “This horse is special for us. It’s great to have him back in top form. This horse is like a train, he needs a clear run, and we got that from the 600m today. Winning this race, in these colours, for me it is ‘la crème sur la gateau’.”

Assistant Trainer, Abdulla Fawzi Nass, added: “It's very important to get him back to his proper form, we know how a good horse he can be and he was very impressive today. 

“Today he was able to finish his race which suits him. He was always travelling very well, he was just waiting for a gap and when it came, his kick was very impressive. The likely plan now is to go for the King’s Cup."

Earlier in the evening the same colours had been in the winners’ enclosure following a surprise result in the Bahrain Vision Cup (sponsored by Beyon), the middle-distance division of the Bahrain Turf Series. Signalman, like Calif owned by Victorius Forever for trainer Fawzi Nass, put some poor recent runs behind him to wear down Westridge in the final strides of the 1800m race. 

The finish was fought out by two former stablemates as both horses had previously been trained by John and Thady Gosden in the UK, but at the 400m marker there only looked to be one winner when Westridge was kicked clear by Ebrahim Nader. However, a five-length gap was being rapidly reduced in the closing stages and Signalman, under Husain Makki, got up to lead on the line. The second and third, Westridge and Lord Montague, were both trained by Daniel and Claire Kubler. 

Speaking after race, Assistant Trainer, Abdulla Fawzi Nass, said: “That was a bit of a surprise because he has not been running well recently, but he was impressive today, for sure. Husain (Makki) said the pace suited but he thought he was not going to get there in time, but in the last couple of 100 yards he really kicked into gear. It's very important for us to win these big international races, so we are very happy.”

The penultimate round in the sprint division of Bahrain Turf Series saw 18 horses go to post for the Al Sakhir Cup (sponsored by Texel Air) over the minimum trip of 1000m.

On paper the race looked very competitive, with seven of the top ten horses from the sprint division leaderboard involved, but in the end, it was won comfortably by a horse making his debut in Bahrain. Dan Tucker, trained by Ali Abdulmajeed and ridden by Neil Callan, burst clear in the closing stages to put daylight between himself and his rivals, with his closest pursuers being Partisan Hero (trained by David Loughnane), Kaasib and Chief Mankato. 

Now a four-year-old, Dan Tucker was bought out of Jedd O’Keefe’s yard for Al Mohamediya Racing at the Tattersalls Horses in Training sale in Newmarket and he made a striking impression on his first run for new connections. 

Speaking after the race, winning rider Neil Callan was full of praise for Dan Tucker: “When I cantered him down to the start, I thought what a relaxed horse for a sprinter. He was so easy, but then he was out very fast out of the gate and going past the 400m I had a look across and thought, I’ll wait a little bit longer, and when I did let him go, he sprouted a pair of wings.

“I knew he would get the trip well, and with it being his first run for a while I wanted to be a little patient on him. It was a very professional performance, and he gave me the feel of a nice horse.”

The climax to Bahrain’s international season is the King’s Cup Festival, two evenings of high-class racing held on 5th and 6th March, featuring the $400,000 Group 3 King’s Cup and including the final rounds in the Bahrain Turf Series.