Horse racing

Wembley heads three runners for Aidan O'Brien as the Irish trainer seeks an 11th victory in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday. Ryan Moore rides the favourite, with Frankie Dettori on Battleground and Seamie Heffernan partnering Van Gogh. O'Brien's son Joseph, who rode Camelot to win for his father in 2012, trains another top contender in Thunder Moon. "Wembley is probably the obvious danger as he was very consistent last season," said Joseph. Jim Crowley says it would be very special to

Rachael Blackmore made sporting history by becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National with victory on Minella Times at Aintree.

Rachael Blackmore is relishing the opportunity to become the first female jockey to win the Grand National, but the Irish rider is not getting carried away by the hype generated by her record-breaking effort at last month’s Cheltenham Festival. Blackmore had six wins at Cheltenham and was the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle, with Honeysuckle, before finishing second at the Gold Cup behind Minella Indo, ridden by Jack Kennedy. Her dominant displays have caused bookmakers to slash the odds of

Carrying the colours of Mohamed Fahad Al Attiyah, NIJINSKI AL MAURY (FR) (Amer x Nemosie Al Maury) opened his accountin the IFAHR Cup, a Listed race over 2,200metres for four-year-old and older Purebred Arabians, on fibre-sand at Mons,Belgium on Thursday, 12 November 2020. Ridden by Jérôme Cabre and trained by Thomas Fourcy, the four-year-old colt did well and proved a very cosy winner. Bred by Renée-Laure Koch, NIJINSKI Al Maury is a nephew of NO RISK AL MAURY (KESBEROY), who himself was a

Ali Bin Saeed Aljafali Al Nuaimi’s AJAL (Domestic Fund x My Sweet Natalie) completed a hat-trick of wins this seasons with a third straight victory in the AL WUKAIR CUP (LOCAL THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP Rated 85 & Below) at the dirt track at Al Rayyan Park on Wednesday. Majed Mahadi Seifeddine’s charge opened the season with a maiden win over mile on turf, before switching to dirt and 1700m for a handicap two weeks ago. The 4yo colt lined for C&D on Wednesday with

Injaaz Stud’s LEKHRAIB (AF AlBahar x Grace T) had narrowly missed out on a victory on his last outing but the Mohammed Gassim Ghazali saddled horse made amends on dirt on Thursday, landing the DOHA CUP (LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIAN CONDITIONS) at Al Rayyan Park. Having finished runner up last month over C&D, the 6yo chestnut had Marco Casamento for company in the six furlong sprint, and despite a threatening challenge by a duo saddled by Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle – Patrice Alexandre

Owned by Hamad Bin Abdulrahman Al Attiyah, HAYZUM (FR) (Anodin x Sheema) proved an easy winner of the Grand Prix du Nord, a Listed race over 2,000 metres, at Chantilly on Friday, November 6. After a slow start, the Elias Mikhalides-trained colt found himself relegated to last position despite being drawn one. His jockey Grégory Benoist asked his mount to pick up on leaving the final bend and HAYZUM delivered a very exacting response by passing all his rivals in the straight before

Abdulatif Hussain Al Emadi’s PAZEER (Siyouni x Parandeh) made a dazzling return to the Al Rayyan Park with a thrilling victory in the BARZAN CUP (QA Gr 3) (THOROUGHBREDS (Class 1) 85 & Above) on the turf on Thursday. Helmed by Soufiane Saadi for the second straight time, Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki saddled Pazeer grabbed the lead inside the final 100m of the mile long feature with Stefano Ibido’s trainee DOMINUS (Zoffany x Gwen Lady Byron) breathing down his neck under Luca

Al Thumama Racing’s X FORCE (Bungle Inthejungle x Nafa) raced to his second straight victory when the Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki trained gelding topped the UMM AL HOUL CUP for Thoroughbreds on dirt at Al Rayyan Park on Wednesday. The 3yo bay horse had bagged a handicap race on dirt last week under Soufiane Saadi. On Wednesday, they duo combined well again as they landed the six furlong sprint with four lengths to spare. X Force stayed on the heels of Injaaz

Al Shahania Stud’s RB KINDLE (Burning Sand x Rich Kinkga) sprinted to her third consecutive victory when she landed the LOSAIL CUP (PUREBRED ARABIANS) with ease. Th Gassim Mohammad Ghazali trained mare stayed on the rails and up front under Alberto Sanna in the six furlong sprint. She held on to her advantage even as the pace upped and another Ghazali ward, ATEEJ (AF AlBahar x Sahara Croixnoire), came threateningly close under Marco Casamento. But RB Kindle held her own and finished the

The Al Shaqab Racing’s runner Lucky Lycra (IRE) (Olympic Glory x Pearl Banks) ended her career in a blaze of glory by securing a well-deserved group success in the Grosser Preis der Mehl-Mulhens-Stiftung (Gr3) at Hanover, Germany on Sunday, 25 October 2020. The François Rohaut’s charge had landed the Prix Joubert (L) over 2,800m (1m 6f) as a three-year-old, and she was lightly campaigned this season. On Sunday, her young rider, Thomas Trullier, 20, decided to make this a true test by setting

JDG In the colours of her owner and breeder, Al Shaqab Racing, JALELA (FR) (Mister Ginoux x Nefertarie) demolished the opposition in the Prix Nevada II, a Group 3 race for Purebred Arabian fillies at Toulouse on Saturday, 24 October. Quickly up to the lead, she was then settled in behind the leader, GUINESS D’VIALETTES (AF Albahar x USA Des Vialettes), by jockey Jerome Cabre in the mile race on the turf track which read 3.3 (good to soft) on the going-stick. Moving

Al Shaqab Racing’s AL NAAMA (Majd Al Arab x Entisar) led a one-two for the colours and trainer Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle in the UMM BAB CUP (Purebred Arabians) at the turf track of Al Rayyan Park on Thursday. In the mile long feature, the 6yo mare had Soufiane Saadi for company for only the second time in her career and the two kept their 100 % win record intact together. Having won over C&D twice earlier in 2020, Al Naama beat

Khalifa Bin Sheail Al Kuwari’s SHAKOUR (Declaration Of War x Another Storm) won a feature in Qatar for the first time in 13 starts when the Zuhair Mohsen Zuhair Maki trained 5yo topped the WATHNAN CUP (THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 3) 70 – 90) in comfortable fashion on Wednesday. In the 1800m feature on dirt, JP Guillambert was striding the colt for a victory for the second time this year as they won by two and three-quarter lengths. ERNEST ALDRICH (Oasis Dream x Wallis),

Al Azraq Stable’s BINT SAFFIAN (Arcano x Saffian) made it raced to her second straight victory on Wednesday, having won a handicap on her last outing in March, as the mare won the AL GHARIYA CUP feature for Thoroughbred fillies and mares at the dirt track at Al Rayyan Park. Starting wide in Gate 7, the Bader Al Balushi ward had Alberto Sanna for company in the 1100m sprint and the two cruised along to a dominant five length and three quarters victory, as Gassim

Doha: Qatar new horse racing facility - Uqda Equestrian Complex at Al Khor – will play host to the Start of Season Auction on Saturday October 10 from 4.00pm, Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) with the horse racing season set to begin from October 14, 2020, according to the schedule released by QREC). Races at Al-Rayyan Racecourse and at the newly built Al Uqda Complex in Al Khor, in accordance with the precautionary measures specified by the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management

DOHA: Season 4 of Qatar Equestrian Tour – Longines Hathab will kick off from Friday at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) Indoor Arena according to the calendar released by QEF. The event which will kick off the new show jumping season is supported by The Social and Sport Contribution Fund and will be held from October 2020 to March 2021. The annual Qatar Equestrian Tour, which takes place over 12 series of competitions, is organized and hosted jointly by QEF and Al Shaqab.