HORSERACING – Longbourn, owned by Amanda Torrens, was the winner of the first handicap race in the Dublin To Bahrain Series, held at Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin, Ireland.
The prestigious Dublin To Bahrain Series features a seven-race calendar for 2024. Four of these are handicap events, with the winners of each being automatically eligible to compete in the Bahrain Turf Series as part of the highly anticipated 2024-25 season at Bahrain Turf Club.
Longbourn triumphed in the opening event for trainer Ross O’Sullivan while ridden by jockey James Ryan. The eight-year-old ran well in the lead in the race’s early stages but was challenged down the home stretch. Longbourn did enough to secure the victory with a half-length’s margin ahead of runner-up Old Faithful, owned by Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg and Brant, trained by A P O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore.
Genuine Article, racing for Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate and Gerard Keane, came third with Colin Keane in the saddle amongst the 10 competing horses.
The remaining three handicap races on the Dublin To Bahrain Series are scheduled for Thursday (handicap zero to 100), August 22 (handicap zero to 90 for fillies) and The Bahrain Turf Club October Premier Handicap on October 20.
The series’ other events are The Bahrain Turf Club Desmond Stakes (Group Three) race on August 8, The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (Group One) event on September 14, and The Bahrain Turf Club Knockaire Stakes (Listed) race on October 20.
All events are to be held at Leopardstown.
The upcoming 2024-25 season at Bahrain Turf Club heralds a new chapter in the evolution and growth of horseracing in Bahrain, with the installation of floodlights and an expansion of the Bahrain Turf Series to an overall value of over $1million.
The Bahrain Turf Series, launched in 2021 to attract international runners to compete in Bahrain throughout the European winter, will now comprise 12 races, with a further $80,000 available in bonuses to winners. The programme will start on December 20 and run until March 7, with an additional two handicaps, each worth $100,000, set to be run at the season’s finale weekend, where the feature event is The King’s Cup.
Furthermore, the extension of the Bahrain Turf Series means that all the kingdom’s premier horseraces in the second half of the season now fall within the dates of the international programme.
The Crown Prince’s Cup, The Shaikh Nasser Cup, The Al Methaq Mile, and The King’s Cup, along with further valuable races, are all within the same window as the 12 Bahrain Turf Series races.
The 2024 running of the $1m Bahrain International Trophy will take place on November 15.
&uuid=(email))