Leopardstown Racecourse and Horse Racing Ireland have pulled off what might be one of the most valuable sponsorships of the year.
They have announced that the Bahrain Turf Club is to be the new sponsor of the Irish Champion Stakes.
The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes with prize money of €1,000,000 will be staged at Leopardstown Racecourse on Saturday, September 10, as a centrepiece of the Longines Champions Weekend.
The agreement will see the Bahrain Turf Club sponsor the prestigious race for six years, from 2022 to 2027 and brings a strong degree of certainty for one of the marquee events of the Irish racing calendar.
The race was established in 1976 and when the Champions Weekend concept was created in 2014 the Qatari investment vehicle Quipco took on the sponsorship that had previously been held by Emirates Airlines.
In 2020 and 2021 it was run without a headline sponsor after Quipco pulled out after a successful six-year stint.
The emergence of the Bahrain Turf Club is a big win and confirms the value of the race to the Irish bloodstock and racing sector as well as to broader Irish relations in the middle east.
“The Bahrain Turf Club is delighted to establish this partnership with Leopardstown and Horse Racing Ireland by sponsoring one of the most prestigious races in world racing, The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes,” said H.H. Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Chairman of The Bahrain Turf Club.
“Following our investment into the sport in recent years, The Kingdom of Bahrain is now recognised as a Part Two nation under the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, and it will be my ambition to continue supporting our programme in order to become a Part One nation that hosts an international Group 1 in the near future.”
“The future of our European sponsorship strategy will be designed to support The Kingdom of Bahrain’s burgeoning international race programme which is currently headlined by the £600,000 1m2f Group 3 in November, The Bahrain International Trophy.”
“The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is a race that always delivers and next month’s renewal, the first to be run under the sponsorship of the Bahrain Turf Club, looks like a race to savour,”added HRO CEO Suzanne Eade.
“I would like to thank His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and the Bahrain Turf Club for this sponsorship. We are very aware of the desire The Kingdom of Bahrain has to grow their racing product and Bahrain has had a continued presence at our sales for many years now and also have a growing bloodstock interest in Ireland.”
“To have this international support reinforces the importance of the Irish Champion Stakes in the Irish racing calendar,” concluded Leopardstown racecourse CEO Tim Husbands, pictured above with Ed Veale, Head of Racing with the Bahrain Turf Club
“We would like to thank His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa for the generous sponsorship. We look forward to working with His Highness and the Bahrain Turf Club on one of the world’s leading Flat races, The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.”
