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Three European Group 1 winners feature among a cast of 75 international entries for Qatar's biggest racing fixture, the HH The Amir Sword Festival. Last week's G2 Singspiel S. winner Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) has been entered for the $1 million HH The Amir Trophy, the Longines-sponsored feature race for Thoroughbreds on Feb. 20 at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha, along with Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}), who is owned by Qatar's HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani, and 6-year-old Intellogent (Ire) (Intello {Ger}). The latter has raced in...

by Alan Carasso Locally owned, but French-based French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}) was given a perfect ride from the front by Olivier Peslier and proved not for catching, successfully defending his title in the US$1-million HH The Amir Trophy Saturday at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha. American import Standard Deviation (Curlin) rallied from midpack to be an excellent second, while Pedro Cara (Fr) (Pedro the Great) backed up his last-out Qatar Derby success with a running-on third-place effort. Away beautifully from gate one, the clean chestnut entire headed off...

by Alan Carasso The three-day HH The Amir Festival comes to a conclusion with the marquee race of the meeting, the US$1-million HH The Amir Trophy, a race which has attracted last year's top-three placegetters, a local legend looking for a third win in the event, an intriguing American import and some of the world's top jockeys. The locally owned French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}) defeated Royal Julius (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB}) and the well-traveled Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) with relative ease 12 months ago and proved the...

Among the 321-strong entries for His Highness The Amir Sword Festival in Qatar are 105 overseas horses set to contest the $2.95-million six-race card at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Qatar on Feb. 21-22. There are two $1-million races on tap, one for Thoroughbreds--the 2400-metre HH The Amir Trophy presented by Longines. 2019's winner, G1SW French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}), squares off against the second-fourth-Royal Julius (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB}), Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), and The Blue Eye (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Fellow German Group 1 winner Aspetar (Fr) (Al...