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| Staff Writer |
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There are several horses entered in the Gr.3 Bahrain International Trophy Cup, but few have withstood the test of time. Lord Glitters is one such exceptional racing celebrity. He is still glowing from the Gr.1 Jebel Hatta victory as an 8YO, earlier this year at Meydan.
“Lord Glitters has been a wonderful horse over the years for his owners and ourselves,” said David O’Meara.
“As a yard, we love to travel horses abroad and having ran to fifth place in Bahrain last year we felt he enjoyed the track
“We were given a very warm welcome therefore it was always the plan to come back again,” said the Upper Helmsley trainer.
O’Meara considers Lord Glitters the “the horse of a lifetime.”
With the Covid-19 restrictions well and truly out of the way, O’Meara hopes to join his charge in the paddock on raceday.
“Unfortunately, his owners are unable to attend this year but I will be there myself as well as the owners representative Chris Dixon. I am very much looking forward to it.”
“When travelling horses abroad we normally follow the same routine as it seems to work well for us,” he said.
“Their work is completed at home, they then travel over and are freshened upon arrival in Bahrain.”
“Last year worked really well for Lord Glitters, going to Bahrain and then onto Dubai.
“The warmer climate seems to really suit him and the plan will be to follow a similar routine this year.”
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The trainer O'Meara has always displayed an uncanny knack for rejuvenating horses that he has either bought at horses-in-training sales or has inherited from other trainers.
Lord Glitters was purchased in France when he became available at the Deauville Sales in 2017 on the back of some eye-catching form.
Though the final 270,000 euros price was beyond their original budget, O’Meara had every confidence in the horse’s pedigree and physique.
“How he walked, his shape, his demeanour. He was everything we were after. He walked out of a box like a cheetah – I hadn’t seen anything like him,” said O’Meara.
They are words that have even more meaning and poignancy because O’Meara, a one-time jump jockey has always preferred to be judged by results, rather than hyperbole, since switching to the training ranks over a decade ago.
Lord Glitters has managed to vindicate his greatest supporter, O’Meara with an outstanding record that speaks for itself – 39 runs, nine wins and more than £1.857m of prize money for the Turnbull family who are great supporters of racing through their Elwick Stud.
O’Meara has two other stable stars aimed at the region for early 2022.
“Summerghand is a possibility for both the Dubai Carnival and Saudi Arabia,” he said, “We are also making plans for Gulliver and Azano to potentially head out to Qatar.”
Furthering an already burgeoning career by travelling his stable stars is a scary thought for competing trainers given the progress O'Meara has made in his first decade as a trainer. But it's probably a very safe bet.
“Winning any group one is amazing but to win the Jebel Hatta with Lord Glitters at the age of 8 was extra special!!” said the leading international conditioner.