The Aidan O’Brien-trained Order Of Australia was a game winner of the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Qatar on Saturday.
Ridden by Ryan Moore, the son of Coolmore stallion Australia, claimed the Qatari Group 2 contest at the prestigious H.H. The Amir Trophy meeting by half a length from Band Width with a further head back to Conflict in third place in the 12-runner 1 mile contest.
Russian Emperor
The Coolmore-bred, former Aidan O’Brien inmate Russian Emperor landed day’s main race, the H.H. The Amir Trophy over a mile and a half for Hong Kong-based trainer Douglas Whyte and jockey Alberto Sanna.
The 2021-22 Hong Kong Champion Stayer (2021/22) claimed the US$2.5 million race ahead of Godolphin’s Warren Point for Godolphin and the French-trained Bolthole, by half a length and another half a length respectively.
It was a fifth career win for Russian Emperor, a son of Galileo, who previously won the 2022 Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and the 2022 Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup in Hong Kong.
The six-year-old Russian Emperor holds entries in both the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic and Group 1 Dubai Turf at Meydan on Dubai World Cup Night, 25 March 2023.
The Aidan O’Brien-handled runners, Broome and Stone Age, finished fifth and twelfth respectively in a race that included runners from Ireland, France, Hong Kong, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
