Bahrain’s latest sortie onto the international stage reached a thrilling climax at Sakhir racecourse on Friday [Feb 18] with the final two legs of the inaugural Bahrain Turf Series.
Godolphin landed their first winner in Bahrain as Silent Film got up in the shadow of the post to claim the seven-furlong Al Sakhir Cup under James Doyle, while half an hour later there was a runaway hometown victory as Zagato slammed his rivals in the Vision 2030 Cup over 1m2f.
Perhaps a bigger winner, though, was the Bahraini racing scene as a whole as this latest step into more cosmopolitan waters following three editions of the £500,000 Bahrain International Trophy drew to a close with visiting connections seemingly well pleased with their experience of the island kingdom.
Indeed, though Silent Film was the only overseas-trained horse to prevent a domestic monopoly in the ten-race series, Newmarket trainer William Jarvis was all smiles as Arqoob landed a £25,000 bonus for his connections – despite failing to score in five runs in the kingdom since the series began in December.
Ridden by David Egan, the four-year-old stayed on for third behind Zagato – enough to secure first place as overall series winner in ‘Pot B’ (1m1f-1m2f division). The £25,000 is split £15,000 to the winning owner and £10,000 to the winning trainer for the horse who accrues most points in each category – and Arqoob, twice a handicap winner in the UK last term, topped the charts with a second, two thirds, a fifth and an eighth place.
Standing with owner Richard Banks and his daughter Emma at the rail in the parade ring, Jarvis roared Arqoob and David Egan down the straight, admittedly well adrift of 6½-length winner Zagato. “I’m very proud of him, he’s been so consistent,” said Jarvis. “I’m so thrilled that Richard and Emma could come out and witness this race.”
Jarvis deflected any praise for Arqoob’s achievement on the racing road less travelled to his travelling assistant James Bosley, saying: “It’s all down to James. I’ve been in Newmarket the whole time but he’s been with him since before Christmas. He’s got a wife and three children back at home that he hasn’t seen for a long time and people out here have remarked how dedicated he has been.”
Music agent extraordinaire Emma Banks was delighted. “What a fantastic bonus to keep him out here!” she said. “He hasn’t won yet but he’s been ultra-consistent and passed a lot of horses. It’s a really interesting way the points have worked out and makes for an interesting end to the series.
“You can’t be disappointed when you go home with prize-money from races, prize-money from the league table and a lovely trip to Bahrain.”
Arqoob may have won the overall title but he was never in any danger of winning the final race in the £550,000 series, as the beautifully bred four-year-old Zagato (by Frankel, out of G1 winner Izzi Top) slammed his rivals with a crushing 6½-length victory under Neil Callan, who is leading the jockeys’ title race in Bahrain for the 2020-21 season.
A winner at Thirsk in June for John & Thady Gosden, Zagato now represents Bahrain’s champion trainer Hesham Al Haddad, who officially oversees the domestic operation for Fawzi Nass, a well-known face on the international scene with high-profile winners in Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
“Zagato has been improving since he got here,” reported Nass. “He’s not a big horse – he’s light-framed but he was right in the handicap here. All I know is that he won by too far – let’s hope the handicapper wasn’t looking.”
Nass’s formidable operation totally dominated proceedings, with six winners on an eight-race card at Sakhir. However, they were not involved in a thrilling finish to the seven-furlong Al Sakhir Cup, the other Bahrain Turf Series race on the card, which went to Godolphin’s Silent Film in a dramatic last-gasp effort.
The Charlie Appleby-trained four-year-old charged down the middle of the track to head front-running Shebil Aljazira, who so nearly stole the race after establishing a clear lead in the straight with only the riderless Mushtaq (who unshipped soon after the start) for company.
Doyle duly drove Silent Film home but it looked mighty close – much closer than the official margin of a head suggests. “My initial reaction was that he’d won,” said the jockey.
“It was a confusing race with the loose horse – it was quite messy, a little erratic with scrimmaging early and we lost our pitch and got pushed wide on the turn so he did quite well, really, to gradually work himself into the race.”
Silent Film’s victory represented the culmination of a long-term plan. “Charlie earmarked this race for him some time ago so that was a very good shout,” said Doyle.
While Appleby wasn't present, Doyle is something of a regular in Bahrain. “I’ve been coming for a number of years now and year-on-year it really improves,” he said. “It’s nice to see how things are evolving, both the standard of racing and the facilities. The track seems to ride a bit nicer every year, the races are getting more competitive and the new turf series obviously brought quite a few UK trainers out.”
Appleby pledged to send more horses. “He’s a horse we pinpointed for the race and we’re delighted he went and won,” said the trainer, who is world #1 on TRC Global Rankings. “It’s been a great series in Bahrain and we’re delighted we found the right horse to come over – hopefully we’ll be part of it in the future as well.”
Taking third and fourth behind Silent Film were a British-trained pair in King’s Knight (Charlie Hills) and Natural Path (Michael Bell). The latter’s trainer, who last month won a non-series race in Bahrain with Ace Rothstein, was full of praise for the kingdom’s burgeoning efforts on the international racing scene.
“There are many positives to take out of it,” said the Derby-winning trainer. “As I’ve said before, I’m particularly impressed with the track. We’ll be back.”
Appleby was the only overseas trainer to win one of the ten Bahrain Turf Series races, while the overall title for Pot A (7f-1m division) was won by dual winner Happy Craf, who represents Bahrain’s 16-time champion trainer Allan Smith.
Bizarrely, the progressive Argentine-bred filly was ineligible for the series final as she has gone up too far in the handicap. However, her trainer has a plan, and she has already gone into quarantine ready for a trip to Britain in the summer with a view to picking up a Group 3 or Listed race before she is covered.
“It’s a holiday fund isn’t it?” grinned Smith when asked about the £25,000 prize for winning the series.
“She deserves it,” he went on. “She’s a big girl, 540kg, and she’s just gone from strength to strength. It’s just a pity we couldn’t run her in the last one but she’ll be going over to the UK now and she’ll be stationed with my son Martin in Newmarket.”
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