Its thoroughbred contests might’ve been overshadowed by the Saudi Cup this year, but as QREC celebrates its 50th birthday, what’s in store for its HH The Amir Sword Festival?
When the current 2025-26 season opened in October, it heralded the 50-year anniversary of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC).
Chairman Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Attiyah has reaffirmed QREC’s goals.
“Our vision and strategy are clear,” he said. “To promote Qatar as a world hub for racing and as a leader in the pure Arabian breed.”
The Club has definitely taken great strides in recent years towards achieving those aims, not least by increasing the prize money of their headline races, The HH The Amir Trophy (for thoroughbreds) and The HH The Amir Sword (for Arabians).
Each one, run over 2400m, has a prize fund of $2.5m, an eye-catching figure in the thoroughbred community and the world’s most valuable contest for Arabians (by $500,000).
The prizes fall into the ‘build it and they’ll come category’, though in the case of the Arabian race, it’s already an international Group 1PA and many of the top Arabians are Qatari owned.
For thoroughbreds, it’s a different matter, with the level of the top Qatari races akin to a Group 3 in Europe.
Following the $1.5m prize money increase in 2023, the quality of international horses has been raised, taking advantage of a generous travel incentive package offered to invited horses.
The Club pays to ship in a horse and two grooms from overseas, as well as two business class flights for owners, two for trainers and one for jockeys, plus hotel accommodation.
Byzantine Dream was one of three Japanese trained runners to make the journey this year, along with [eventual winner] Deep Monster and Satono Glanz, already twice placed in the Amir Trophy.
Yusuke Sai, international racing manager for Satono Glanz and Byzantine Dream’s breeder, Northern Farm, explained the meeting’s appeal.
“The prize money is very attractive here,” said Yusuke Sai, international racing manager for Satono Glanz and Byzantine Dream’s breeder, Northern Farm. “In the Japanese racing calendar, we don’t really have good prize money for mile-and-a-half horses in February, so it really fits for them. The Neom Turf in Saudi is only 2100m.”
Sai said Qatar has “great facilities”, with a “world class” racecourse, good hospitality and friendly people.
“We had a really great experience the first time we came,” he continued. “Satono Glanz’s owners have been here twice now and love racing in Qatar, so it’s always a target. We’d definitely consider bringing other horses who could be suitable for this race in the future.”
Godolphin was another leading organisation to target the meeting with its middle-distance horses.
Warren Point was second by half a length to Doug Whyte’s Hong Kong-trained Russian Emperor in 2023, but they avenged that defeat with their globe-trotting superstar Rebel’s Romance in 2024.
Coming back for more last year, Rebel’s Romance made it back-to-back wins, despite a last-minute relocation to Qatar’s secondary track at Al Uqda when Al Rayyan was found to be unraceable.
Hopes for a hat-trick were dashed after a below par workout, but Charlie Appleby sent the Sword Dancer Stakes winner, El Cordobes, as his replacement, along with two others for the undercard.
It was noted that he didn’t have a runner at the clashing Saudi Cup, and that he made the trip over from Dubai to supervise his runners on the big day.
El Cordobes and the Japanese were joined by Giavellotto (Hong Kong Vase) and Goliath (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Grosser Preis von Baden), as well as the Group-placed Lion’s Pride.
All seven Trophy runners rated 113 or over (an average rating of 116.85), unthinkable just a few years ago.
Despite the rise of Wathnan Racing, which had a very successful Festival with both breeds (they won both Group 1PA Arabian races), for the first time the Trophy lacked a domestic challenger. This was commented on in the local media and it’s difficult to see Wathnan not having a runner next year, when organisations like Godolphin and Northern Farm consider making the Festival worthy of a regular return trip.
Additionally, the success of Stuart Williams, who brought Quinault back to improve on his 2025 Dukhan Sprint third and was rewarded with a win, will garner interest among smaller owners with international ambitions.
One downside is that funded places are limited and the same can be said for international media slots, needed to spread the word, though there’s nothing to stop either cohort making their own way to Doha, and some have.
It’s these cohorts, more than prize money or race quality, that’s likely to have the greatest effect on the Festival gaining wider appeal.
The position of Ramadan in the calendar will continue to have an impact on all the major race meetings in the Gulf, though it’s hoped, as in the past, that Qatar will be able to race on its own weekend next season. It’s certainly possible for a horse to run in both Qatar and Saudi Arabia when the two big meetings are a week apart.
Last year the HH The Amir Shalfa winner Aafoor went on to run in the Saudi International Handicap, finishing fifth, without an entirely clear run. These meetings can be very attractive for owners wanting to make the most of a winter in the Gulf, particularly if they’ve horses based in Dubai for the Carnival.
This year’s additional clash with the Asian Racing Conference in Riyadh probably helped to bring a few curious faces to Al Rayyan, though most returned to Saudi for the Cup on the Saturday.
As for QREC’s 50th anniversary aims: Qatar is well established as a leader in Arabian racing, with Al Shaqab’s Al Ghadeer finishing his glittering career with second place in the HH The Amir Sword and retiring as the world’s highest rated Arabian. Ever.
Dubai, however, still has the edge when it comes to acting as the Middle Eastern hub for world racing, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia also vying for attention.
Increased publicity, both pre and post racing, to the horsemen and women and to the wider world is necessary, along with the hoped-for upgrade in Pattern status for Qatar’s international races.
It has been a slow burn for ‘Qatar’s Royal Ascot’, but with the Amir’s success through Wathnan Racing gaining impetus, the signs for positive momentum going into the next 50 years are strong.
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