HORSERACING – DAY one of the HRH The Crown Prince’s Cup Festival last night featured two more races in 2025-26 Bahrain Turf Series, and both events produced notable victories and impressive performances.
In attendance during yesterday’s programme were Prime Minister’s Court Minister and Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club High Committee chairman Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and General Sports Authority deputy chairman and Bahrain Combat Sports Council president Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.
The first of the Bahrain Turf Series races was The Anchorman Cup, sponsored by Howden, and it delivered a first of its own – the first winner in Bahrain to be trained in Scotland.
Dain Ma Nut In is from the yard of Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore near the Scottish town of Kinross and the five-year-old is their first runner outside of Europe. Dain Ma Nut In had run no sort of race on his Bahrain debut in December, virtually pulling up after hanging badly on the home turn, but yesterday was a very different story.
Bounced out of the stalls by Lewis Edmunds, who was riding the horse for the first time, Dain Ma Nut In took the lead early and was not for catching holding off all 14 rivals throughout the 2,000m race, eventually winning by two-and-a-half lengths from Vestigia, with Salamanca Lad in third.
Representing Russell and Scudamore was their assistant trainer Steven Kelly, who was pleasantly surprised by the win. “We were just hoping for a nice run tonight,” said Kelly. “Everybody else in the series has been up and running and we have missed out through one thing and the next, so for him to go and do that, it was a big performance.
“It’s brilliant to be invited out here and we’re so grateful to the owners, Lamont Racing, who were really keen to give it a go. He’s a good horse and he’ll stay further, so our options are open.”
Dain Ma Nut In’s winning jockey Edmunds added: “When you watch his wins back in the UK, he’s a free-running horse and it’s just the way he likes to go. We obviously got to the front early today, as he had the pace to get there from a good draw, he’s then done it his way and he was so willing at the finish.”
The colours of Al Adiyat Racing are no strangers to the winner’s enclosure in Bahrain - however, until yesterday, they had never been carried to victory in a Bahrain Turf Series race. That anomaly was corrected when Up The Pace made his debut in the kingdom a winning one in the sprint division, taking The Hawar Cup, sponsored by Cebarco.
Brilliantly prepared by Daniel and Claire Kubler and ridden by Bahrain Turf Club ambassador Tom Marquand, Up The Pace lived up to his name in the 1,200m race, holding off challenges from a succession of international raiders, led by Commanche Falls in second, Spangled Mac in third, and Blue Day in fourth.
Reflecting on the win and the performance, Marquand said: “He surprised me with how much pace he showed, he has obviously won over further and I was expecting him to take a bit longer to get going but he picked up really well and as a result I hit the front about a furlong too soon. He’s a lovely horse going forward and he clearly loves conditions here.”
Co-trainer Daniel Kubler added: “We’re still learning about the horse and we were not expecting him to win like that. He had done just enough work to start him off, so maybe that suited him, being fresh.
“To win a Bahrain Turf Series race was something His Highness [Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa] has been very keen to achieve, so it’s a very satisfying result for everyone.”
Earlier on the card, there was a notable success in the career of young jockey Benoit De La Sayette as his season based in Bahrain reached a new peak with victory in the Bahrain Oaks, sponsored by Al Muzdaher Stud.
Riding the lightly raced but improving filly Wanisa for owner Mohammed Khalid Abdulrahim and trainer Haider Ebrahim, De La Sayette drew clear in the closing stages to score an impressive win.
Afterwards, De La Sayette said: “We were confident going beforehand and we got in the perfect pitch. She’s a filly who wears her heart on her sleeve and she hit the line strong.
“It’s only her third start and she’s only going to progress further. I am over here to ride for Mohammed Khalid Abdulrahim and so it’s lovely to get one on the board for him at a major meeting such as this.”
Bahrain’s current champion and the leading rider this season, Ebrahim Nader, had to settle for third in the Bahrain Oaks, but prior to that he had landed a quick double, winning successive races, both in close finishes, firstly on Ezz Albahrain in the Grand Seiko – Bahrain Jewellery Centre Cup and then on Almonaady in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup.
Newmarket trainer George Scott landed his fifth winner of the season when Nepal made all the running under Rosie Jessop in the Investcorp Cup over 2,400m. Given a bold, front running ride by Jessop, Nepal extended his lead on the turn for home and still had nearly two lengths to spare at the line.
The HRH The Crown Prince’s Cup Festival continues today. The headlining event will be the HRH The Crown Prince’s Cup, sponsored by Cebarco – a Group Three race for imported horses to be run over 2,000m with a whopping $200,000 in total prize money.
Other big races today are The Bahrain Mile, sponsored by BBK, offering $50,000; a second HRH The Crown Prince’s Cup, sponsored by Cebarco, offering $40,000 but this time for Bahrain-bred contenders; and the Bahrain Derby, sponsored by Bapco Energies, offering $30,000.
&uuid=(email))