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| Staff Writer |
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The upcoming HH The Amir Sword Festival has already attracted 152 international entries from 11 different countries, making it one of Qatar's most prestigious race days. The festival will be held on February 17th at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha, and will feature a total of 414 horses engaged in its 2024 renewal. The event will offer six races and a prize money of US$6.8 million.
The two main international races are HH The Amir Trophy for thoroughbreds and HH The Amir Sword for purebred Arabians. Both races will be run on turf over 2400m and each carries a purse of US$2.5 million. The HH The Amir Trophy will feature top-class horses from some of the world's best racing jurisdictions. Reigning champion, Russian Emperor, trained in Hong Kong by Douglas White, has already been invited to defend his crown. His likely opponents include the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf hero, Rebel’s Romance, who hails from the UAE-based stable of Charlie Appleby.
The HH The Amir Sword's field is set to feature several of France's best purebred Arabians, such as the Francois Rohaut-trained pair Al Ghadeer and Ch'Ezza, along with the Thomas Fourcy stablemates Moshrif and Al Doha. The most likely local winner of HH The Amir's Sword is Abbes, trained by Alban de Mieulle, who won the race last year.
The festival is completed by two more thoroughbred contests, the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup for four-year-olds and up over 1600 metres on turf, and its purebred Arabian equivalent, the Qatar International Cup. Both offer a prize money of US$500,000.
The Dukhan Sprint for 3YOs and up is run over 1200 metres on turf and has a purse of US$400,000, as does the Al Rayyan Mile, another turf affair, this time over 1600m and restricted to 3YOs. The top Dukhan Sprint candidates are likely to be the British visitor and Group One winner, Emaraaty Ana, and the dual Group Three winner, Coeur de Pierre.
Invitations to take part have already been accepted by connections of the O'Brien-trained Henry Adams, Orne from the Gosden yard responsible for last year's winner Alzahir, and Ne Me Quitte Pas, who hails from the stable of one of France's best young handlers, Christopher Head, for the Al Rayyan Mile.
Commenting on the entries, Qatar Racing & Equestrian Acting CEO, Bader Bin Mohammed Al Darwish said, "The huge number of entries is a demonstration of the progress of Qatar’s horseracing. It also reflects the success of the organisers to attract international trainers and owners to enter their horses for the six international races of the festival. The quality and variety of the horses entered promise that Al Rayyan Racecourse will be home for top-class action at the highlights of our racing calendar."