UK Arabian Derby: Sab'aan Al Shahania Meets Romeo AT

Chantilly Rivals Resume at Doncaster

The Gr.1PA UAE President Cup (UK Arabian Derby) will be run over 1m 2f on turf at Doncaster on 12 September 2026, with six declared runners contesting a first prize headed by the Chantilly form pair Sab'aan Al Shahania and Romeo AT. The pair resume their rivalry in the UK Arabian Derby after fighting out the finish of the Qatar Derby des Pur-Sang Arabes de 4 Ans at Chantilly on 14 June 2026. Sab'aan Al Shahania, trained by Francois Rohaut and ridden by Stephane Pasquier for owner Al Shahania Stud, got the better of that contest by a short head. Romeo AT, trained by Xavier Thomas-Demeulte for Wathnan Racing, was demoted into second, with Fakhira third. That contest set up the pair's rematch in the 2026 UK Arabian Derby, with connections on both sides keen to settle the matter over a mile and a quarter at Doncaster.

The Gr.1PA UAE President Cup (UK Arabian Derby) is run over 1m 2f on turf at Doncaster for 4YO Purebred Arabians. It is staged on the 250th St Leger Day, forming part of the St Leger Festival's third day, and is contested by six declared runners headed by the Chantilly form pair Sab'aan Al Shahania and Romeo AT.

The Doncaster race sits within the world's oldest Arabian classic series and stands as the most valuable race exclusively for 4YO Arabians in Europe, according to the Arabian racing Organisation (ARO). Since the race returned to UAE President Cup sponsorship in 2016, every winner of the French equivalent to subsequently contest the Doncaster race has completed the double, and Sab'aan Al Shahania is bidding to become the fifth horse to do so.

Marquand Switches Onto Romeo AT

Genny Haynes, ARO Chief Executive Officer, said: "Year on year this race produces a quality winner who goes on to further top-level success around the globe. This year's edition promises to be just as competitive and a significant pointer for future champions."

Romeo AT switches to Tom Marquand for this assignment, a change of rider for the colt. Sab'aan Al Shahania retains Pasquier, the partnership that carried him to the Chantilly verdict, with Rohaut a winner of this race in 2024.

Rohaut is far from reliant on a single string, since Al Wasmiyah Stud's Laffan also lines up under his care and arrives with a form line over Romeo AT that reads more clearly than the Chantilly result suggests. Laffan beat Romeo AT by a nose in the Qatar Arabian Trophy des Poulains (Gr.1PA) at Saint-Cloud, a race in which Romeo AT had to weave through rivals to mount his challenge, and beat him again in August 2026 in a Deauville Gr.1PA for older horses, finishing second there with Romeo AT three lengths back in third.

Rohaut also trains Al Ghadeer, rated the world's best Purebred Arabian, a detail that places his Doncaster raiding party — Sab'aan Al Shahania and Laffan both drawn from the same yard — inside a broader run of form for the trainer in 2026. Laffan, unbeaten over course and distance in France at this trip across two Gr.1PA runs, takes a leading jockey booking of his own, with Maxime Guyon riding him for the first time in this race.

Al Sharid Tries a Visor First Time

The home challenge is led by David Griffiths, a trainer better known in Thoroughbred racing for producing Group-winning sprinters, among them two-time King George Stakes winner Take Cover. Griffiths saddles Al Sharid, already a winner over course and distance at Doncaster, partnered again by John Egan, with whom the horse has built a working partnership through this campaign.

Al Sharid switches headgear for this run, replacing cheekpieces with a visor for the first time, a change Griffiths and Egan will hope sharpens the colt's finishing effort on ground he has already handled. The course-and-distance form gives the home challenger a tangible reference point against a field otherwise built on French Gr.1PA results, even without the benefit of a head-to-head against the Chantilly principals.

Newmarket-based Phil Collington fields two British-bred runners in the race, the higher-rated of which is Ash'jaa, bred by the trainer's wife, Sheila Collington, and campaigned in the colours of principal supporter Athbah Stud. Ridden by Dougie Costello, Ash'jaa gives Collington a direct link back to his best previous result in this race.

Ash'jaa is a half-brother to Dossar Athbah, who finished fifth in this race for Collington in 2016, and the trainer will be hoping to improve on that placing with the second generation of the family now representing Athbah Stud's colours at Doncaster. The connection threads a decade of the yard's involvement in the UK Arabian Derby into the 2026 renewal.

Mason Returns to Chase a Placed Record

Collington's second runner, and the sixth confirmed contender, is Zayin Sentinel, campaigned for Red Dragon Racing Club and partnered by Joanna Mason, a three-time ARO Lady champion. Zayin Sentinel has been placed on his last two outings heading into the Doncaster race, form that puts him among the confirmed six without the benefit of a Group-level result to set alongside the Chantilly form pair.

Zayin Sentinel also changes headgear, switching from cheekpieces to blinkers, a second alteration among the six runners alongside Al Sharid's visor. Mason was third in this race in 2023 riding for Collington and Athbah Stud, giving her a placed record in the race she now returns to chase from a different yard's second string.

Short Head Split Renewed Over 1m 2f

The 2025 renewal of the race at Doncaster was won by Lippo De Carrere from Moneer, with Shaihaan — trained by Rohaut and ridden by Marquand — finishing third from a field of eight over the same 1m 2f trip on soft ground, for a first prize of £226,840.00 (US$301,697). That result marked Rohaut's most recent placed finish in the race before the 2026 two-pronged challenge with Sab'aan Al Shahania and Laffan.

Haynes also pointed to the broader reach of the UAE President Cup Series' backing of ARO racing beyond Saturday's contest. "We thank the UAE President Cup Series for their generous and continued support of our racing, which along with this race, was extended to include a Group 3PA race for three-year-olds in August, which at £150,000 was the most valuable race for that age group in Europe," Haynes said. "We look forward to our race on Saturday which can be viewed on Sky Sports Racing."

Six runners go to post at Doncaster with the form book pointing squarely at Rohaut's stable. Whether Sab'aan Al Shahania, Laffan, or one of the home-trained pair — Al Sharid with his course-and-distance record, or Zayin Sentinel switching to blinkers — can unpick that pattern will settle a rivalry that has so far turned on inches rather than lengths, with the Chantilly form book still the clearest guide to what may follow at Doncaster.

Race Info

UAE President Cup (UK Arabian Derby): NA | Group 1PA | FOR 4YO | Purebred Arabian | Turf | 1m 2f | £250,000 (US$332,500) | Rail Position: NA | Track Condition: NA | Safety Limit: NA | Track Record: NA | Prize Breakdown: NA

Contenders

UAE President Cup (UK Arabian Derby): Sab'aan Al Shahania (T: Francois Rohaut / J: Stephane Pasquier) | Romeo AT (T: Xavier Thomas-Demeulte / J: Tom Marquand) | Laffan (T: Francois Rohaut / J: Maxime Guyon) | Al Sharid (T: David Griffiths / J: John Egan) | Ash'jaa (T: Phil Collington / J: Dougie Costello) | Zayin Sentinel (T: NA / J: Joanna Mason)