As hackneyed phrases go, to suggest that any race ever ends in a fairytale result is to risk the realm of cliche. Sometimes, though, the well-worn phrase feels entirely appropriate – and the third edition of the Bahrain International Trophy, won in thrilling fashion by ‘horse of a lifetime’ Lord Glitters, comes firmly in that category.
And that’s in more ways than one. Of course, it would have been hard to imagine a more fan-friendly outcome than the veteran grey globetrotter rolling back the years to claim the £500,000 event with a typically storming late run to deny his fellow oldster, Barney Roy.
“It means the world to us because he’s not a young horse,” suggested trainer David O’Meara after Lord Glitters and jockey Jason Watson were given a hero’s welcome by an enthusiastic crowd at the Bahrain Turf Club’s Sakhir base at the Rashed Equestrian and Horseracing Club (REHC).
“There are no words,” O’Meara added. “He is a fantastic horse; I might have been quoted in the past saying that he is a horse of a lifetime and I think he is for us. He has proved it once again and we don’t have loads of horses like him, so he is very special to us.”
However, while there was no shortage of the feelgood factor as the 8-year-old beat the 7-year-old, a 1-2-3 headed by the race’s two G1 winners with Dubai World Cup third Magny Cours (owned like Barney Roy by Godolphin but trained by Andre Fabre rather than Charlie Appleby) taking third, it was tailormade for an ambitious nation with aspirations to becoming a key destination on the global racing circuit.
The Bahrain International Trophy was newly promoted to G3 status for the 2021 running; a result like this can only add significant heft to what are certain to be pressing claims for another swift upgrade.
With organisers keen to showcase welcoming Bahrain’s many attractions, visitors to the kingdom were given red-carpet treatment ahead of the kingdom’s showpiece international contest.
However, all the lavish hotels, glitzy receptions and sandy beaches in the world might mean the square root of diddly squat if the horses did not deliver the goods.
Fortunately, a contest billed as the place ‘where champions meet’ climaxed in a memorable finale as Lord Glitters, dead-last until halfway behind front-running Pogo’s frenetic gallop, charged home to thwart Barney Roy inside the final furlong. The margins in a right finish were a half-length and a neck, with 1000 Guineas third Fev Rover a good fourth.
Unfinished business
North Yorkshire-based O’Meara was ecstatic as the son of Whipper carried the colours of the late Geoff Turnbull and wife Sandra to yet another famous success. “We came here last year and finished fifth, so we thought we had a bit of unfinished business,” said the jubilant trainer.
“We felt he could be competitive again this year,” he went on. “The Group 1 penalty was a little bit worrying but this year he got a good pace whereas last year they hacked and let a couple of them go.
“There was a lot of talk this year that there was a lot of pace and that’s the scenario in which Lord Glitters is always going to be dangerous.”
Maybe so, but O’Meara admitted he knows there can’t be too many miles left on the clock. “Every big race we run well in, it’s a bonus,” he said.
“I’ve had good horses like him in the past, but they’re on the decline by the time they are rising 9 so we’re under no illusions that he’s probably got only a short window left in his career.
“I can’t imagine him coming here again when he’ll be nearly ten. There will come a time when his old legs start to give way on him, but not yet. The enthusiasm is still there; the ability is still there. He’s a Queen Anne winner and he could have been a dual Queen Anne winner. To me he was overlooked.”
Character-building season
Lord Glitters’ ageing joints like a bit of warm weather – and it was only in March that he won the G1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan. A return to Dubai is now on the cards, although O’Meara’s interest was clearly piqued when Saudi Arabia’s Prince Bandar told him he had now earned an invitation to the $1.5 million Neom Turf Cup at the Saudi Cup meeting. “The Saudi option has been planted but he’ll be 9 by the time Saudi comes around, so it’s a big ask for a geriatric,” commented the trainer.
Such a high-profile victory clearly meant a huge amount to winning jockey Jason Watson at the end of a character-building season in which the 21-year-old lost his job with Roger Charlton.
“It’s a really big deal to me,” said Watson, described as a “hell of a talent” by O’Meara. The jockey went on, “I’ve had a rocky year back home, personally and in my job, and it’s been tough to deal with so I’m delighted.”
Watson admitted to a few butterflies before riding the old stager for the first time as he deputised for the injured Danny Tudhope – anxiety presumably not entirely helped when the gelding spooked at the band in the parade ring.
“I came out here with a lot of nerves and I wouldn’t call myself a nervous jockey,” he said. “He’s so important to the yard, a true champion and David sees him as a world-class horse, and obviously he’s proved that plenty of times.”
For once, Barney Roy’s trainer Charlie Appleby, the world #1, had to settle for second place amid his annus mirabilis. “Barney Roy has run a fantastic race and we’re delighted,” he said. “The two old boys went at it, and I always felt the race could be set up for Lord Glitters as they were gonna go hard this year.
“We came there to win our race and thought we’d won it, but always with Lord Glitters the race isn’t over until he hits the line and he hit it at the right spot. We’re pleased to be part of it – it’s a great race and we’ll be part of it next year. This race is in the calendar year now and it’s a race we’ll point horses to.”
And therein lies the nub of the issue, because surely the biggest winner here was Bahrain racing itself, now firmly on the racing map after only three runnings of its signature contest.
Next month they’ll kick off the ambitious Bahrain Turf Series, featuring ten races and £550,000 in prize money from December to March; around 20 European-trained horses are expected to attend.
More importantly, Bahrain is surely now a gigantic stride closer to hosting a much coveted G1. “This means a lot,” agreed Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, a mamber of the Bahraini royal family, REHC chairman and a dynamic driving force within the sport.
“For a Group 1 winner at Ascot to come to Bahrain and win on our home turf, it means a lot,” he reiterated. The pace was genuine and the best horses won. It’s great to have a proper Group 1 winner.”
Indeed it was. And you know what? You might even be tempted to refer to it as a fairytale.