Al Thani Ramps Up in North America

One prominent name on the sales sheets this year at Keeneland is Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Thani’s Al Shahania Stud. By the end of selling Tuesday, Al Thani and his advisors, including the longtime Gainsborough Farm manager Dean Lavy, have signed for no fewer than five yearlings for a total of $1,805,000. Included was one of yesterday’s dearest fillies, a $600,000 Fastnet Rock (Aus) filly from Taylor Made’s consignment (hip 268). The daughter of the Irish stakes performer So Stylish (Johannesburg) has strong European credentials, as her dam’s 3/4-brother was the champion juvenile colt One Cool Cat (Storm Cat). The filly was one of four horses by the international standout Fastnet Rock at September. 

“She has a very European pedigree, and we thought, yeah, we could get one [by the sire] in Europe, but she was a great physical specimen and was just one of those horses that jumps out at you,” explained Lavy. 
Yesterday, Al Shahania also purchased a $320,000 Medaglia d’Oro filly, a $200,000 War Front colt and a $200,000 Medaglia d’Oro colt. 

“We might leave one or two here to run, and the rest will probably go to Europe,” said the American-bred Lavy, who is now based in Doha, Qatar.

Though relatively new to the Thoroughbred game, Al Thani–a member of Qatar’s ruling family–has had extensive equine interests for the past three decades. He reportedly owns around 500 horses worldwide, including Arabians and show horses. In fact, Al Thani has built something of an empire with purebred Arabians–winning one the sport’s premier races, Qatar’s Emir’s Sword, a staggering nine times, while accounting for the Arabian World Cup–held on the Arc undercard–in 2011 and 2012. 

A few years ago, Al Thani decided to take aim at Thoroughbreds. One of his first purchases was Flotilla (Fr) (Mizzen Mast), who shipped from France to win the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf at Santa Anita. In her next start seven months later, Flotilla doubled up in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp. 

Not long after, Al Thani purchased the 2-year-old filly Vorda (Fr) (Orpen) privately, and watched as she ran No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) to a length in the G1 Prix Morny. She quickly became Al Thani’s second Group 1-winning Thoroughbred when capturing Newmarket’s Cheveley Park S. 

Al Thani is now quietly making his presence felt in North America. Following a maiden victory, he privately acquired the 2-year-old Pirate’s Trove (Speightstown), and now has an undefeated stakes winner on his hands after the Michael Stidham-trained filly captured the Woodbine’s Duchess S. July 10 and Etobicoke S. Sept. 1 in succession. Al Thani also has an unraced Malibu Moon juvenile colt in training with Graham Motion. 

“We’re building here,” said Lavy. “It will be a slow process, I think. He loves the energy here, he loves the sales and being here, and we’re just trying to buy some racehorses with some nice pedigrees. And we’re trying to buy some foundation mares. The boss bought a few last year here, and he came back and bought a mare and a weanling in November. Now he’s back for some yearlings.” 

Al Thani maintains a farm in Normandy, France, which like his Arabian operation in Qatar is called Al Shahania Stud. He currently has about 20 broodmares, and has 25-30 horses training in Europe. 

For his part, Lavy is excited about the direction of Al Shahania. Lavy worked for Sheikh Maktoum al Maktoum’s Gainsborough Farm for 26 years. When the eldest Maktoum sibling passed away and his brother Sheikh Mohammed took control of Gainsborough, Lavy stayed on for another six years, but ultimately decided to leave the horse business. The departure didn’t take. 

“I was out for a year and it drove me crazy, so I got back in,” he said. “Then this opportunity came. Sheikh Mohammed’s a very generous man and it’s a great operation. He really loves the horses and has such a passion for them. For him, it’s not about the money or the prestige–he loves his horses.” -LM