Harry Bentley knows what it takes to win the QAT G1 H.H. The Amir Trophy (2400m) having prevailed twice aboard local star The Blue Eye (2016 & 2018) but on Saturday (18 February) he’ll line up as a visiting rider to represent Hong Kong – a gratifying moment for the 30-year-old as he returns to familiar surroundings at Al Rayyan in Doha, Qatar.

“It really is exciting, I think it’s great to be going back and to represent Hong Kong is fantastic – I’m really looking forward to it.

“I spent a lot of time there. I did seven seasons and the seventh one was interrupted by COVID but I’ve done six full seasons in Qatar and I was champion jockey every year, I managed to bag around 400 winners at the track,” Bentley said.  

Bentley’s homecoming of sorts comes as he prepares to partner Hong Kong’s Group 3-winning Senor Toba in this weekend’s 12 furlong contest. The Brit believes the timing is right for the five-year-old son of Toronado.

“The horse is tip-top, fresh and fit. The advantage he’s got over the European horses is that they might have come off a little bit of a rest because it’s the time of year when they’re a bit thick in their coats and going over to a hot climate can be quite hard on them.

“Everyone wants a slice of the pie and people will come if you put on the money. This will definitely be the most competitive running of the race,” Bentley said.

Senor Toba’s final run prior to departure returned victory in the G3 Centenary Vase Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin earlier this month as he readies to face rivals such as Broome, Stone Age, Romagna Mia and Riocorvo – all of whom are yet to race in 2023.

Trained by Caspar Fownes, Senor Toba is one of two horses from Hong Kong lining up in the H.H. The Amir Trophy with Russian Emperor also fielded for Douglas Whyte. 11 others from Qatar, Ireland, France and the United Arab Emirates make up the field.

“It’s really good to represent Hong Kong with a horse like Senor Toba, I think it’s great the fact that I know the track – I think he’s a horse who will suit the track and we know he likes the distance, so it seems like a good opportunity to take up.

“I’ve been lucky enough to ride at a lot of tracks around the globe and having course knowledge helps to no end, I know exactly where you want to be positioned during the race and where you want to start making moves. I definitely feel like I have that advantage – especially having won the race twice,” Bentley said.

Bentley will ride this afternoon in Qatar before tomorrow’s fixture and first pairing with Senor Toba.  

“He looks like a nice, straightforward horse. The fact that he’s going into it off a win clearly shows that he is in good form,” Bentley said.

Senor Toba has two Group 3 wins to his name in Hong Kong having also prevailed in the 2022 G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap (2400m).

Russian Emperor was crowned last season’s Hong Kong Champion Stayer (2021/22) and forms a two-pronged assault for Hong Kong. The duo will be the first Hong Kong-trained runners to race in Qatar.

The Douglas Whyte trainee will break from gate four, while Senor Toba does so from gate eight. Russian Emperor captured a pair of Group 1 crowns last season in the 2022 G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) when he famously defeated Golden Sixty before going from last-to-first in the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m).

Two starts ago Russian Emperor was fifth in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) – finishing alongside Tourbillon Diamond and ahead of Japan’s Geoglyph and Jack d’Or.

Alberto Sanna will ride Russian Emperor in this weekend’s US$2.5 million (approx. HK$19.6 million) race.

Warren Point has five wins from seven starts and lines up in the H.H. The Amir Trophy for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin in barrier five. The Dubawi gelding was a three-length winner in Bahrain earlier this month at Listed Stakes level, while his four other wins have come at Newmarket, Doncaster, Goodwood and at Kempton on the synthetic.

Hellenistique, In The Night, Mutabahi, Bolthole, Inverness and Scherzo also feature.

The QAT G1 H.H. The Amir Trophy (2400m) will be run as race seven at 9.15pm (HKT) as part of an eight-race fixture at Al Rayyan in Doha, Qatar.