HORSERACING – Bahrain's international season gets underway this week with the two-day National Day Festival and today’s card heralds the return of the Bahrain Turf Series when a strong contingent of British and Irish trained horses take on the locally trained home team.
Spanning December to March and comprised of six sprint races and six middle-distance races, each contest in the Bahrain Turf Series is worth a minimum of $80,000, with a further $40,000 available in bonuses for the leading horse in each category.
The 2025-26 Bahrain Turf Series kicks off with the fiercely competitive Al Manama Cup, sponsored by BBK, an 18-runner sprint over the minimum distance of 1,000 metre.
Among the nine international runners are some familiar names to Bahraini racegoers with past course winners Roman Dragon (trained by Hugo Palmer), Desert Cop (trained by George Baker) and Spangled Mac (trained by George Boughey) all in the line-up.
One horse having his first run in the kingdom is Jack Channon’s four-year-old sprinter, Chief Mankato.
Channon enjoyed success in last season’s Bahrain Turf Series with Majestic and he believes Chief Mankato has all the attributes for a successful winter campaign.
Trainer Jack Channon said: “Chief Mankato is a very talented horse. He came to me last year and it took him a while to settle in and find his feet and it took me a while to figure him out too. He has a massive engine, but he does also have his little quirks.
“He’s a horse that loves quick ground, loves a fast pace and I think the 1000m and 1200m races on the straight track will really suit him. Also, I think the climate will suit.
He’s a horse who performs better at the height of the English summer and I think he will relish being based in Bahrain rather than running on the all-weather tracks over the winter.
“He’s at the right end of the handicap to maybe go and win more than once and we hope he can make up for us missing out on the Bahrain Turf Series bonus as we did with Majestic last season.”
Channon’s apprentice jockey, Rose Dawes, has flown out to help prepare Chief Mankato and will take the ride today.
The opening round in the middle-distance category of the Bahrain Turf Series is the Al Muharraq Cup, sponsored by Alba, and 15 horses go to post, including past race series winners for the home team, Merlin’s Beard and Knight Of Honour.
Two of the five international contenders are trained by Bahrain regular, George Baker, and both are making their debuts for the yard.
The more experienced of the pair is the seven-year-old Max Mayhem, purchased at the July Horses-in-Training sale and a winner in Dubai last winter when trained by Hilal Kobeissi. Less exposed is the three-year-old Nesthorn, the mount of Benoit de la Sayette, who this winter is based in Bahrain.
Bred and raced by Juddmonte, Nesthorn was in the care of France’s champion trainer, Francis-Henri Graffard, for whom he won on debut as a juvenile before a three-year-old campaign that concluded with a fifth of five behind subsequent Arc winner, Daryz.
He was sent to the October Horses-in-Training sale where he was bought by George Baker for his new connections for 60,000 gns.
He starts his handicap career off a rating of 93.
Also in the Al Muharraq Cup is Dain Ma Nut In, who will be a first runner in the Middle East for trainers Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore.
The progressive four-year-old will have the assistance of Callum Shepherd, who’s 15 winners in Bahrain have come at a remarkable strike rate of 35 per cent.
Shepherd recently returned to action in the UK after a lengthy spell out injured and he has several booked rides over the two days of the National Day Festival, including for trainer George Scott, who has provided the majority of his winners in the kingdom.
All the races can be watched on the Bahrain Turf Club’s website via the Live Stream and the Bahrain Turf Series races will be shown in the UK and Ireland on Racing TV.
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