The John & Thady Gosden-trained Mostahdaf guaranteed his place in Bahrain’s headline race by winning the “Automatic Entry” Group Three Darley Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday under Jim Crowley. The three-year-old son of Frankel has now won five races out of six, with his only defeat coming in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

John Gosden said: “Mostahdaf hasn't done a lot wrong. He got boxed in during the St James's Palace Stakes and that was the end of it. We've always thought of him as a 1m2f horse. His half-sister (Nazeef) won two Group One races at a mile. She was by Invincible Spirit, and he is by Frankel, so we are pretty confident a mile and a quarter is his best trip. He is a classy horse. There is the Bahrain International Trophy as an option in November, but we will talk about it with everybody, and we will see how we want to play it”

Amongst the six Group One winners that have been entered, two have won Group One races in 2021. Thundering Nights won the Group One Pretty Polly Stakes at The Curragh in June, beating subsequent dual Group One winning filly Santa Barbara by a neck. Lord Glitters built on his fifth-place finish in the 2020 Bahrain International Trophy to win the Group One Jebel Hatta in Dubai in March.

The remaining Group One winners entered are: Godolphin’s globetrotting quadruple Group One sensation, Barney Roy, David Simcock’s Desert Encounter, a dual winner of the Group One Canadian International Stakes at Woodbine, Saeed bin Suroor’s Royal Marine, a winner of the Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere as a two-year-old, and finally, Nao Da Mais, who secured four Group One victories in South America.

Godolphin had two runners in the 2020 renewal (Loxley and Dream Castle) and have entered eight further horses in addition to Barney Roy and Royal Marine in 2021. Their remaining entries are Real World, Dubai Future, Soft Whisper, Zakouski, Bedouins Story, Algiers, and Dubai World Cup third, Magny Cours.

William Haggas could be set to have his first runner in the Group Three Bahrain International Trophy. The rapidly improving Dubai Honour has won two consecutive Group Two races in France and has since been supplemented for the Group One QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot this Saturday, with an appearance in Bahrain afterwards a possibility for the son of Pride Of Dubai. Two further entries, Foxes Tales and Euchen Glen look set to take on Dubai Honour in Saturday’s Champion Stakes

Aidan O’Brien finished 3^rd with Sovereign in the 2020 Bahrain International Trophy and the Ballydoyle trainer has once again strongly supported the race with The Mediterranean and Amhran Na Bhfiann both receiving entries. The pair are both entered to run at Ascot this weekend in the Group Two Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup.

Other notable entries include the Charlie Hills-trained Pogo who finished an excellent second behind Benbatl in the Group Two Joel Stakes at Newmarket last month, Jessica Harrington’s Cadillac who has Group Two and Group Three honours to his name and Square De Luynes who has won seven of his nine starts in Sweden and Norway, including six Group Three races for trainer Niels Petersen.

From the total of 78 horses nominated, there are a total of 25 individual Group winners. Collectively they have amassed a total of 58 Group wins, with 14 of those being Group One races.

Shaikh Salman bin Rashed al Khalifa, Executive Director of the Rashid Equestrian & Horse Racing Club, said: “We are incredibly proud of the progress in quality from year to year in the Bahrain International Trophy. To have gone from 46 entries in 2019, to 61 in 2020 and now 78 in 2021 proves the confidence that connections have in racing in Bahrain. More importantly, the calibre of horses entered from 10 different countries is also very high. To have some high class and progressive horses who have won multiple Group races in 2021, entered is very exciting.”

He continued: “The feedback we have received from trainers, owners and jockeys about racing in Bahrain means a huge amount and that is reflected by the entries we have received from some of the best trainers in the world. We are thrilled that the race has been elevated to Group Three status and we firmly believe that the race is now a key date in the international racing calendar.”

Eight locally trained horses have been entered, with at least three guaranteed a space in the race. Simsir won the 2021 renewal for local trainer, Fawzi Nass.

A maximum field of fourteen will go to post.

Horse	Trainer	Country
Akho Mobaary (KSA)	Abdullah bin Mishref Alqahttani	KSA
Algiers (IRE)	Andre Fabre	FR
Alwahsh (IRE)	Abdullah bin Mishref Alqahttani	KSA
Amhran Na Bhfiann (IRE)	A P O'Brien	IRE
Avalina (USA)	A Khalid	KSA
Barney Roy (GB)	Charlie Appleby	UAE
Bedouins Story (GB)	Saeed bin Suroor	UAE
Bopedro (FR)	Mrs John Harrington	IRE
Cadillac (IRE)	Mrs John Harrington	IRE
Caprice des Dieux (FR)	Nicolas Clement	FR
Chiefdom (USA)	Salem bin Ghadayer	UAE
Classical Wave (GB)	Fawzi Nass	BAH
Coolagh Forest (IRE)	Haider Ebrahim	BAH
Dawn Intello (FR)	Andreas Schutz	FR
Deacon (GB)	Nawaf Almandeel	KSA
Desert Encounter (IRE)	David Simcock	GB
Desert Lion (IRE)	Fawzi Nass	BAH
Dubai Future (GB)	Saeed bin Suroor	UAE
Dubai Honour (IRE)	William Haggas	GB
Euchen Glen (GB)	Jim Goldie	GB
Eudaimonia (FR)	Edouard Monfort	FR
Faisal (GB)	John & Thady Gosden	GB
Felix (GB)	Marco Botti	GB
Fev Rover (IRE)	Richard Fahey	GB
Finest Sound (IRE)	Simon & Ed Crisford	UAE
Fooraat (IRE)	Roger Varian	GB
Fox Tal (GB)	Andrew Balding	GB
Foxes Tales (IRE)	Andrew Balding	GB
Galova (FR)	Cédric Boutin	FR
Gronkowski (USA)	A Khalid	KSA
Harrovian (GB)	John & Thady Gosden	GB
Horoscope (IRE)	A P O'Brien	IRE
Insinuendo (IRE)	Willie McCreery	IRE
Kenway (FR)	Frederic Rossi	FR
Khartoum (USA)	A P O'Brien	IRE
Kick On (GB)	Niels Petersen	NOR
King David (DEN)	Niels Petersen	NOR
King Leonidas (GB)	John & Thady Gosden	GB
King Vega (GB)	Andrew Balding	GB
Lauderdale (IRE)	Alban de Miuelle	QA
Litigator (IRE)	Haider Ebrahim	BAH
Living Legend (IRE)	Mark Johnston	GB
Lord Glitters (FR)	David O'Meara	GB
Lough Derg (IRE)	A P O'Brien	IRE
Magny Cours (USA)	Andre Fabre	FR
Matthew Flinders (GB)	Ed Walker	GB
Maydanny (IRE)	Mark Johnston	GB
Military Style (USA)	A P O'Brien	IRE
Monty (FR)	Andreas Schutz	FR
Mostahdaf (IRE)	John & Thady Gosden	GB
Motakay'yef (KSA)	Hamad Al-Rasheed	KSA
Mr de Pourceaugnac (FR)	Andre Fabre	FR
Naamoos (FR)	Fawzi Nass	BAH
Nao Da Mais (BRZ)	Marco Botti	GB
New Show (IRE)	Fawzi Nass	BAH
Ocean Road (IRE)	Hugo Palmer	GB
Palavecino (FR)	Brian Meehan	GB
Penja (FR)	Andreas Suborics	GER
Persian Moon (IRE)	S.S Alkatani	KSA
Pogo (IRE)	Charles Hills	GB
Qaader (IRE)	Fawzi Nass	BAH
Real World (IRE)	Saeed bin Suroor	UAE
Royal Marine (IRE)	Saeed bin Suroor	UAE
Saltonstall (GB)	Adrian McGuinness	IRE
Sir Busker (IRE)	William Knight	GB
Soft Whisper (IRE)	Saeed bin Suroor	UAE
Square De Luynes (FR)	Niels Petersen	NOR
Step By Step (FR)	Nawaf Almandeel	KSA
Suspicious Mind (DEN)	Nina Lensvik	SWE
The Mediterranean (IRE)	A P O'Brien	IRE
Thundering Nights (IRE)	Joseph Patrick O'Brien	IRE
Tokyo Gold (FR)	Satoshi Kobayashi	FR
Tyson Fury (GB)	Richard Spencer	GB
Victory Chime (IRE)	Ralph Beckett	GB
West End Charmer (IRE)	Mark Johnston	GB
What A Welcome (GB)	Ajalil Al Mallah	BAH
Zakouski (GB)	Charlie Appleby	UAE
Zorion (GB)	Helal Alalawi	UAE

The Bahrain International Trophy Conditions

FRIDAY 19th NOVEMBER 2021

• Total Race Value will be £500,000/€550,941

• Distributed in the following order:

- £250,000/€291,449.68 to the Winning horse.

- £125,000/€145,724.84 to the Second.

- £62,500/€72,862.50 to the Third.

- £37,500/€43,710 to the Fourth.

- £25,000/€29,142.37 to the Fifth.

OPEN TO:

• There will be a maximum field size of 14 runners.

• 2000 metres/10 furlongs on the turf in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

• 3yo & up

• Horses need to be rated 95 or over by their domestic authority at the time of closing.

• Supplementary entry stage Tuesday November 2^nd - £10,000 to enter.

• Final declaration will be done on Sunday 14th November, 11am The Kingdom of Bahrain time.

• Post-Position Draw to take place on Wednesday 17th November 2021 in The Kingdom of Bahrain.

• REHC will guarantee at least three slots in the Bahrain International Trophy for locally trained horses.

AUTOMATIC INVITATION:

There have been three races which granted “Automatic Invitation” to the winners even if not originally entered.

• Friday August 13th The Curragh – Fitzdares Royal Whip Stakes (G3) Won by Earlswood
• Saturday August 21st York – The Sky Bet and Symphony Group Strensall Stakes (G3) Won by Real World
• Saturday October 9th Newmarket – The Darley Stakes (G3) Won by Mostahdaf

WEIGHTS:

• Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere 4-year olds and upwards 58 Kgs.

• Northern Hemisphere 3-year olds 56.5 Kgs.

• Fillies and Mares allowed 2 Kgs.

PENALTIES:

• A group 1 winner in 2021 will carry a 1.5 Kgs penalty.