Aspetar

A winner at the highest level in Germany and victorious in group races in France and England, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Thani's homebred Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}) appears the class of the field as he makes his Qatar debut in Saturday's US$1-million H H Amir Trophy (2400m) at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha. The lightly raced 6-year-old won the G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly and G1 Preis von Europa in 2019 while under the care of Roger Charlton and punched his ticket to the G1 Cox Plate with...

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...

G2 York S. winner Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}) is bound for Australia's G1 Cox Plate, having had to miss the G1 Juddmonte International earlier this month. "If we can get him there, we're going to run in the Cox Plate," Charlton told Sky Sports Racing. "He has to do quarantine himself for two weeks, then they [Charlton's staff] have to go via Sydney for two weeks before the horse arrives. Currently there are no flights to Sydney, so there are a lot of hurdles to jump. He would get...

Saturday's G2 Sky Bet York S. had the look of a competitive affair beforehand and there was no fluke in the dominant success of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani's Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}) despite his odds of 11-1 suggesting otherwise. Successful in last year's G1 Preis von Europa and G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly, the 5-year-old had put in a highly creditable comeback performance when second in Sandown's Listed Gala S. July 5 and took the requisite step forward to put some smart rivals to the sword here....