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| Staff Writer |
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Trainer Willie McCreery is confident that his single entrant, Ireland's Insinudendo, can bring Ireland its first victory in the race. This high-class 5YO, stall number seven, is a multiple Group winner and ran to a fantastic third-place finish in the Gr.1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot in her most recent outing.
As McCreery puts it, "We were meant to come last year but she had a small setback, so we are happy to take up the invitation this year." McCreery is very optimistic about his horse's chances. She seems to have found her happy place here; she's been quite calm and focused in her training. She's a huge, free-action filly, but she didn't start racing until September of her third year because she was still developing. She's grown into a beautiful, mature horse that thrives on her training.
McCreery thinks Insinuendo will be OK if she decides to settle down now that she's older.
The daughter of Gleneagles will run in her final race on Friday before retiring to the December Sale at Tattersalls. This will be her final race before being offered at the Tattersalls December sale during the Sceptre session.
There will be four Godolphin horses represented by three different trainers in Friday's £600,000 race. Magny Cours, trained in France, ran second to Lord Glitters in a thrilling 2017 repeat of this event and will be riding for Mickael Barzalona to try to improve on that finish. Stall number five is where Andre Fabre's reliable globetrotter, trained by the masterful jockey himself, will make his debut.
Trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick, both champions in Britain, have teamed up with Royal Fleet in the wake of their win at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. In his 11 career appearances, the son of Dubawi has never finished lower than third, and in September he stayed on strongly to win the Listed Bahrain Turf Club Foundation Stakes at Goodwood.
Saeed bin Suroor is entering the race with two horses. Dubai Future finished eighth in this race a year ago, but this year he easily won the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot under the guidance of jockey Daniel Tudhope (who has stall three). Richard Kingscote, who rode the winning horse in the Derby, has been assigned to ride his second runner, Passion And Glory (stall four).
Saeed bin Suroor gushed over his two horses in the race: "Dubai Future has demonstrated he is a better horse than last year. He is a top-notch horse who consistently gives 110%. That's the proper competition for him, and he's on the right journey. Depending on the pace of the race, I hope to keep him in a respectable position, perhaps third or fourth. Only ten horses are entered, therefore it's to his advantage to be in the back.
And he said, "If you had seen him two years ago he looked a different horse," referring to Passion And Glory. As you may expect, he was a large horse that had previously had numerous conditions. He has gradually shed the excess weight and improved his physical fitness. We believe this is the appropriate race for him, given he has already shown success in three Listed races.
King David of Denmark, an intriguing candidate, will be the focus of attention throughout Scandanavia. He has won four consecutive races, so he is in the best shape of his life when he reaches Bahrain. Niels Petersen has been caring for and training the son of Elusive City, and Oliver Wilson will be riding him.
Concerning his chances in the Gr.3 competition, Petersen remarked, "It's a joy and pleasure to be here. We're taking on a huge challenge by bringing King David out here, but he's feeling OK. I couldn't be happier with how things have gone so far since we've been here for a few days.
He's been so good this year that we didn't break his form after his last race at the end of August. The horse has clearly made progress, and I believe he should be given a chance. Statistically, his odds are quite good.
Three of this year's runners hail from France, whose Royal Julius won the initial event. Leading jockeys Gerald Mosse (on Monty) and Olivier Peslier (on Riocorvo) are set to ride in the 1m 2f contest, which also features Magny Cours under the care of Andreas Schutz and Carlos Laffon-Parias, respectively.
There are two newcomers to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Dilawar is trained by prominent Bahraini trainer Fawzi Nass, who hopes to repeat as champion after his stable's previous success with Simsir in 2020. Frankie Dettori will be the rider of Dilawar. Pensiero D'amore, the other horse trained in Bahrain, will be running for the first time for trainer Mohammed Hassan. Six-year-old son of Zoffany, formerly trained by Marco Botti in Newmarket, had a successful summer in the UK, taking first place in two challenging handicaps in a very gutsy performance.
According to Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa, executive director of regulatory affairs for the Bahrain Turf Club, "The Kingdom of Bahrain is happy to welcome connections and their horses to the Kingdom" for the 2022 BahrainInternational Trophy. Having the world's top trainers and jockeys together in Bahrain bodes well for a fiercely contested rematch of last year's race.