Festival opens tomorrow.. HH The Amir Sword Festival: major challenge at Al Rayyan
Doha – Mdmar
Under the slogan “Our Legacy in the Lead,” the HH The Amir Sword Festival gets under way tomorrow, Wednesday 11 February 2026, at the Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club (QREC) and will continue through to 14 February. This marks the first time that the flagship festival is staged over four days, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of QREC.
The Festival features a total of 32 races across the four days, with this year’s edition expected to deliver intense and high-quality competition for major prizes and titles. The programme also includes the traditional “Al Sabiq” Championship, which brings together a group of promising Qatari riders and continues to attract strong interest.
The Festival opens with two days of racing on the sand track, featuring leading sand performers among both Purebred Arabians and Thoroughbreds. Attention then shifts to the turf track on the third day, where one of the key races is reserved for local Thoroughbreds in the Al Rayyan Breeders Cup. The closing day, also on turf, stages the Festival’s most prestigious contests, led by the HH The Amir Sword and the HH The Amir Trophy, each carrying prize money of USD 2.5 million. The former, the centrepiece of the Festival, is sponsored by QNB and is a Group 1 contest for Purebred Arabians over 2400 metres.
Al Ghadeer eyes historic treble
In what promises to be a particularly special renewal, Al Ghadeer will be bidding not only to defend his title, but to win the HH The Amir Sword for a third consecutive time.
Victory for Al Ghadeer, owned by Al Shaqab Racing, would secure a historic third triumph in the Doha Triple Crown, cementing his place in Purebred Arabian racing history.
The champion will face a searching test against a number of strong rivals engaged in the race, with Wathnan Racing represented by two runners, Lippo De Carrere, winner of the UK Arabian Derby, alongside Haseef, a multiple Group PA winner, including the Gr2 PA French Arabian Breeders’ Challenge Sprint. Al Shahania Stud, meanwhile, fields Samsa Al Shahania in the hope of rekindling memories of lifting the coveted Sword in previous years.
HH The Amir Trophy
The international stature of the HH The Amir Trophy continues to grow, with this year’s renewal staged as an International Group 2 contest. The race will feature Satono Glanz for the third consecutive year, carrying Japanese hopes of victory after finishing runner-up in each of the past two renewals. He will not be the sole Japanese representative, with fellow Group 2 winners Byzantine Dream and Deep Monster also carrying the same hopes. After Godolphin captured the Trophy in the past two years through Rebel’s Romance, their colours will this time be carried by El Cordobes, prepared for this assignment following a similar programme to that previously employed with the globetrotting Rebel’s Romance.
HH The Amir Silver Sword
The HH The Amir Silver Sword is run over 2000 metres and will bring together 16 runners, including four of the leading Purebred Arabians from France. Among them is Laffan, owned by Al Wasmiyah Farm and trained by François Rohaut, who remains unbeaten to date, including victory in the Group 1 PA Qatar Arabian Trophy des Poulains. He is joined, under the same colours and for the same yard, by Alhaarith, who finished fourth behind Laffan at Saint-Cloud that day. Also lining up are Sienne Al Maury, representing Khalifa Bin Sheail Al Kuwari, who finished placed in a Group 3 contest, and Inaya Grine, carrying the colours of Salmeen Bin Abdulla Al-Jabri, who finished third in her most recent outing in Casablanca.
HH The Amir Shalfa
The Festival’s closing day opens with Qatar’s biggest and most important domestic handicap, the HH The Amir Shalfa, contested over 2000 metres and restricted to horses that have qualified throughout the season.
Last year’s winner Aafoor, owned by Al Jaryan Stud, returns to defend his title following his second victory in the HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani Rifle last month.
Qatar International Cup
The Group 1 PA Qatar International Cup for Purebred Arabians is run over 1600 metres and features Lino, a dual Group 3 winner. He was bred by his trainer, Eric Dell’Ova, who also prepares the horse and retains a share in his ownership.
Another notable contender is Jenkille Hipolyte, owned and trained by Osama Omer Al-Dafea. The seven-year-old bay finished fourth in last year’s renewal and arrives off a win on his most recent start.
Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup
The Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup, also over 1600 metres, takes on a new look this year as an International Listed contest. The race renews last season’s clash among the leading finishers, with Point Lynas, runner-up twelve months ago, aiming to go one better this time, particularly after finishing second in a Group 2 at Ascot last July. The task will not be straightforward; however, as last year’s winner General Panic, owned by Mohammed Abdulhadi Saad Al-Hajri and trained by Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki, has continued to perform well this season and finished third on the HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani Rifle Day.
Al Rayyan Mile
Among the international runners confirmed for this year’s Al Rayyan Mile is another Godolphin-owned runner, Pacific Avenue, who previously travelled to Doha to land the Al Rayyan Stakes by two lengths last December. Also added through supplementary entry is Andab, from the Al Shaqab Racing operation and trained in Ireland by Joseph O’Brien. The three-year-old gelding will be coming off a Listed victory at Dundalk.
