HORSERACING – YORKSHIRE-BASED trainer Karl Burke will saddle his first runner in Bahrain today when Group One-placed Royal Champion lines up in the Group Two Bahrain International Trophy for Emirati owner Shaikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum.
Burke will bid to improve his tremendous 2025 season where he has registered an impressive 37 Group or Listed victories across Britain, Ireland, and France. He has also broken his own records in terms of prize money and number of wins in a year.
Royal Champion debuted on his 2025 campaign with a win in the Group Three Winter Derby Stakes. He then came fourth in a Group Three race at Sandown Park Racecourse, only beaten by a length, before challenging the best horses in his division in the Group One Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The seven-year-old was back in the winner’s enclosure in July when winning the Group Two York Stakes and he produced a career best last time out when third behind multiple Group One winners Delacroix and Anmaat in the Group One Irish Champion Stakes.
Burke spoke to Great British Racing International (GBRI) about his runner in Bahrain’s richest race: “We had the idea of coming to Bahrain with Royal Champion after his win at York. I mentioned it to Shaikh Mohammed Obaid and he agreed to the plan. He was always going to go for the Irish Champion Stakes before coming here and on form his race there could arguably be his best ever performance.
“He’s trained well coming into Bahrain and travelled really well. He is an experienced traveller having been to Australia, Canada, and around Europe. We are very happy with him.
“He runs well fresh and looks in great shape. I would be nervous about Ralph Beckett’s horse Pride Of Arras, who is a three-year-old, but if our horse runs up to his best form he could be the one to beat.”
Burke, who trains from Spigot Lodge in the picturesque town of Middleham in Yorkshire, has been Britain’s leading trainer by two-year-old winners and Stakes winners this year. Talking about his year so far, he said: “It’s been a fantastic year. Our horses have performed consistently throughout the season. Most of our older horses who were highly rated have performed and contributed to what has been a fantastic season so far, and our two-year-olds have delivered. Hopefully it’s not finished yet.”
On the conditions and facilities in Bahrain, Burke added: “It’s my first trip to Bahrain and I have been very impressed. The training facility and the track are in great shape. The grass track that we breezed on is in excellent condition.”
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