HORSERACING – A strong international field has assembled for the 2024 running of the Crown Prince’s Cup, including contenders from the UK and UAE.
Worth $150,000, the 2,000m race carries Listed status and will be run on Friday at the Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club as part of an action-packed day that features two Bahrain Turf Series races, as well as the Bahrain Derby and Bahrain Oaks.
Nine runners go to post for the Crown Prince’s Cup, sponsored by Cebarco, and leading the challenge from abroad are two horses travelling from Dubai in a bid to win the race again for owners Godolphin. The progressive four-year-old Local Dynasty will have one of the world’s leading riders, Tom Marquand, on board for trainer Charlie Appleby, while Kieran Shoemark takes the ride on Passion And Glory, winner of the 2023 King’s Cup, for trainer Saeed Bin Suroor.
The remainder of the field is made up of internationally trained horses currently based in Bahrain and a strong home team. Running for British trainer George Scott in the familiar colours of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s Victorious Racing is Isle Of Jura, the break-out star from this season’s Bahrain Turf Series, who takes the step up from handicap company for this $150,000 Listed race.
The four-year-old gelding, described by his trainer as a ‘giant of a horse’, made a deep impression on his first start in Bahrain when impressively winning the opening round of the Bahrain Turf Series. He then finished a close second to Lucander in round two and the pair re-oppose in Friday’s race, but with Isle Of Jura better off at the weights. Trainer George Scott is excited by the prospect of Isle Of Jura stepping up in class and competing in such a valuable race as the Crown Prince’s Cup.
Ironically, Isle Of Jura was bred by Godolphin, who provide two of his principal opponents on Friday, and was bought by Scott at a horses-in-training sale in March of last year, when he was just a once raced three-year-old.
Isle Of Jura will again be ridden by jockey Callum Shepherd, the pair having developed a good partnership with Shepherd riding him in six of his seven starts for Scott.
The home team’s defence is headed by the in-form Zagato, running for Al Mohamediya Racing and trainer Fawzi Nass. Along with Isle Of Jura and Lucander, Zagato is another horse to transition from success in the Bahrain Turf Series to the Crown Prince’s Cup.
The day also features round four in the 2023-24 Bahrain Turf Series, with the sprint division runners competing in the Hawar Cup over 1,200m and the middle-distance horses running for the Anchorman Cup, sponsored by Howden, over 1,800m.