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| Rowan Anderson |
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Racing returned to Bahrain highlighted by the Al Methaq Mile and The Listed King’s Cup on an eight race card.
Saeed bin Suroor and Daniel Tudhope had shown what the partnership was capable of winning the Group 3 Bahrain International Trophy in November with Dubai Future. Once again they took out a feature on this card with Passion and Glory winning His Majesty The King’s Cup for Godolphin.
His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Chairman of The Bahrain Turf Club spoke on this year’s edition of the event.
“Today we have witnessed another memorable renewal of His Majesty The King’s Cup. Congratulations to Godolphin, to trainer Saeed bin Suroor and to jockey Danny Tudhope following their success with Passion And Glory.
“It is testament to the growth and development of the sport that horseracing in Bahrain now regularly attracts world-class horses and world-renowned trainers and jockeys such as Saeed bin Suroor and Danny Tudhope. And I would like to congratulate His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on his success with Passion And Glory and thank him for his on-going support of racing in the Kingdom.
“As shown by today’s racing, this season we have taken another step towards fulfilling our ambition to establish Bahrain as a home for top-class International horseracing. I would like to take this opportunity to thank not only our overseas visitors but also the Kingdom’s own jockeys, trainers and owners, without whom such progress would not be possible.”
Passion And Glory, who ran second in the Bahrain International Trophy in November, showed his class was on a different level to his competition under a confident Tudhope to get the better of the Charlie Appleby-trained First Ruler, giving Godolphin a first two finish.
Godolphin continue to show their global domination on race tracks with a hugely successful season for Godolphin in Bahrain, winning the three principal races run in the Kingdom: Dubai Future (Bahrain International Trophy), Warren Point (HRH The Crown Prince’s Cup) and now the hugely coveted King’s Cup with Passion And Glory.
Last year’s winner Zagato returned to defend his title for the home team but failed to perform finishing towards the back of the pack. The best of the locals was Tawaareq who finished third for the second year.
Tudhope was very happy with the run and the performance given from his mount.
“The race went smoothly, I didn’t plan to be that far back early on but he didn’t quite jump at the start so I was happy just to get him nice and relaxed. He was obviously up to 1m4f today which is probably far enough for him but he does stay and it worked out well.
“It’s been great coming back here again, they look after you so well and I do enjoy it. I’ve had a good winter for Saeed in Dubai with plenty of winners there.”
Godolphin’s longest serving trainer Saeed bin Suroor also commented on the victory from his horse.
“It was a great result to see Passion And Glory win here. He is a proven horse and his jockey looked after him. The pace was really strong but when he came to the bend he was travelling really well and I thought he had a chance to win. If you look back at his wins, he likes going right-handed and that is why we brought him here. We’re really happy with the result.”
Earlier in the card in the Listed Al Methaq Mile, the Allan Smith-trained Byline bounced back from finishing eighth in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago to run out an impressive winner for owner Al Adiyat Racing. Ridden by Gerald Mosse, the son of Muhaarar powered clear with the victory for Al Adiyat Racing and Allan Smith adding to a treble on the day.
Hoop Gerald Mosse spoke on the ride and performance.
“One thing I knew before the race was that it was the right track and the right trip, so I was really pleased with this. When we turned into the straight I had to make my challenge early because there was pressure coming from the outside. I knew he would need a bit of time, but I knew he would get the distance. He picked up pretty well and ran right through the line. I didn’t even look behind, I just carried on.
“He’s a horse I really like but unfortunately when we went up in distance and the other way around he was not really happy with that. Today was definitely his trip, and he likes going right-handed.”