HORSERACING – Close to 30 horses are set to fly from the UK and Ireland to Bahrain this weekend ahead of the start of the kingdom’s international horseracing season.
The 2025-26 international programme runs from this month to March, culminating in the season finale, the King’s Cup Festival.
The action gets underway at Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club (REHC) with the National Day Festival on December 18 and 19 and the opening two rounds of the Bahrain Turf Series.
The international programme caters for a range of horses and includes the handicaps within the Bahrain Turf Series as well as a number of Listed and Group races.
Several of the horses travelling are in the ownership of multiple partners or syndicates, including Oliver Show, trained by George Boughey for the Pompey Ventures syndicate, and Dain Ma Nut In, trained by Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore for Lamont Racing.
Oliver Show will be returning to Bahrain after a productive visit last winter, and Owen Haly, manager of the Pompey Ventures syndicate, is looking forward to it. “The programme in Bahrain is brilliant for owners like us,” said Haly.
“The Bahrain Turf Series gives horses such as Oliver Show an opportunity to compete for good prize money that they don’t get elsewhere and for the Pompey Ventures to have a horse running in the Middle East is great. Hats off to Bahrain, they’ve done a great job and come a long way in a short while.”
Somewhat better known for her training of Grand National and Cheltenham Festival winners, Russell, and her training partner Michael Scudamore, will saddle their first runner in the Middle East when Dain Ma Nut In runs in the Bahrain Turf Series. The four-year-old is the highest-rated Flat horse in their yard and the gelding won twice at York in 2025.
“Dain Ma Nut In has got some good form, including winning at York’s Ebor meeting,” said Russell. “I think he will be competitive and the conditions will suit, so we are really looking forward to him running in the Bahrain Turf Series.
“It’s a great opportunity and lovely for the horse to spend his winter in the warmth of Bahrain rather than here in Scotland. We have had runners in Ireland and France but this will be our first runner in the Middle East.
“He’s owned by a lovely syndicate called Lamont Racing, who have been with us for a good few years. And while they have a few horses, it is all done on a very small budget and so for them to have a horse good enough to be accepted for the series and take them overseas is wonderful. They usually like their horses to run locally in Scotland, but in this instance, they are really excited to go and watch Dain Ma Nut In when he runs in Bahrain.”
As well as a Scottish-trained horse in Dain Ma Nut In, the visiting contingent includes three representatives from Ireland alongside horses from trainers who have become regular visitors to Bahrain.
George Scott is sending a party of six, headed by last season’s Crown Prince’s Cup winner, Phantom Flight; George Baker is sending four horses; while Hugo Palmer and George Boughey are sending two each.
Palmer’s duo includes the Chester and Bahrain specialist, Roman Dragon, while Boughey sends Spangled Mac, a winner in the Bahrain Turf Series last season, and the versatile Oliver Show.
Haly reports that Oliver Show, who was runner-up in the 2025 Lincoln Handicap on his return to the UK in March, is in great form and ready for the flight.
“Just recently, George (Boughey) was saying how well physically he has done and some of that was down to his time in Bahrain,” said Haly.
“He wintered really well there and took his form in the UK to a new level when he was just touched off in the Lincoln.”
“Last season in Bahrain, we started him off over 10 furlongs (2,000m) and that stretched him a bit, he then ran really well over nine furlongs (1,800m) before finishing second in the Listed Al Methaq Mile.
“We are targeting the Al Riffa Cup over six furlongs (1,200m) in early January for his first run and then we will assess our options, but it is probable he will rock up again in the Al Methaq Mile at the King’s Cup Festival.
“Running off his current mark of 93, I would like to think Oliver Show can win a handicap off that. A victory would be great but, personally, I would also love to see him placed again in the Al Methaq Mile. That was a big day, and I am hoping to be there every time he runs.”
Bahrain’s international season gets underway at REHC during the National Day Festival on December 18 and 19 with the Listed HH Shaikh Khalid Bin Hamad Cup over one mile and the first two races in the Bahrain Turf Series.
Comprising 12 races, with the final two events taking place at the King’s Cup Festival in March, the overall prize fund for the Bahrain Turf Series is $1 million, with a further $80,000 available in bonuses.
A $40,000 bonus is awarded to the connections of the leading horse in each of the sprint and middle-distance divisions.
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