Liam the Charmer Journeys to Qatar for Emir's Trophy

Southern California-based grade 2 winner Liam the Charmer carries American hopes in the $1 million His Highness The Emir's Trophy Stakes Feb. 23 at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha, Qatar, where he'll face an expected 14 opponents, including two-time race winner The Blue Eye.

Qatar is listed in Part II of the International Cataloging Standards and International Statistics, and The Emir's Trophy is a Part II-group 1 race contested at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) on the turf. The winner earns black type, although the group designation is only recognized within the country.

Liam the Charmer, a 6-year-old Smart Strike gelding, won the 1 1/4-mile John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (G2T) Sept. 30 at Santa Anita Park, earning a spot in the 1 1/2-mile Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T), where he finished 12th over the rain-soaked turf. He returned with a third-place finish in the Jan. 5 San Gabriel Stakes (G2T), beaten just a head.

Mike McCarthy trains Liam the Charmer for Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables. Exercise rider Nikki Diodoro said Liam the Charmer is in good form and likes the Al Rayyan turf.

"It's great," Diodoro said after drawing gate 5 for Liam the Charmer at the Feb. 21 ceremony. "He likes it, and he took to the right-hand turning real well."

The Blue Eye, a 7-year-old son of Dubawi, won the The Emir's Trophy in 2016 and again in 2018. After the 2016 victory, he finished last in the Dubai Sheema Classic Presented by Longines (G1) on Dubai World Cup night, his only foray outside Qatar since his first season.

Also drawn for the race are several horses with international success, including Coolmore's Hunting Horn, Richard Hannon-trained Raymond Tusk, and Noor Al Hawa, second in the 2018 Trophy and a successful competitor in France and Germany.

Several of the world's top jockeys are named to ride in the Trophy, including Tyler Gaffalione on Liam the Charmer and Ryan Moore, who makes his first Doha appearance to pilot Hunting Horn for trainer Aidan O'Brien.

Hunting Horn, a 4-year-old Camelot colt, has only two wins for his Coolmore-affiliated owners, but he has been racing in top company, contesting the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) and Breeders' Cup Turf. He finished third, with late interest, in the Jan. 26 W.L. McKnight Stakes (G3T) going 1 1/2 miles over the Gulfstream Park turf in his most recent outing. His Breeders' Cup effort was on good turf, and the Gulfstream stakes was on yielding turf.

Raymond Tusk, a well-bred 4-year-old colt by High Chaparral, posted three wins from seven starts in 2018 but could do no better than sixth when put to the test in the William Hill St. Leger Stakes (G1) at Doncaster in September. He rebounded Oct. 21 to win the Gran Premio del Jockey Club Italiano (G2) at San Siro, defeating a pair of German raiders.

Raymond Tusk drew the outside gate, which owner representative Mike Prince said may confound plans to have jockey Jamie Spencer go to the lead. "This will have to be a Jamie special, I think," Prince said. 

Noor Al Hawa, a 6-year-old, French-bred son of Makfi out of the Street Cry mare Majestic Roi, finished second, beaten just a half-length by The Blue Eye, in the 2018 Emir's Trophy. Also raced in France and Germany, he has eight wins and 17 top-three finishes from 21 starts. His career peak came in August 2018 with a fourth-place finish in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (G1), a race won by multiple group 1-winning filly Alpha Centauri. Maxime Guyon is booked to ride.

French King, a 4-year-old French Fifteen colt racing for H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, deputy emir of Qatar, posted two wins, two seconds, and two third-place finishes from eight starts last season in France. Olivier Peslier will ride.

Royal Julius, a 6-year-old son of Royal Applause, finished ninth in the Sept. 9 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1), then posted a pair of fourth-place finishes in group 2 events in France and Italy to wind up the season.

Giuseppe Garibaldi, a Galileo colt formerly owned by the Coolmore-associated owners, finished ninth in his Doha debut for new owner Hassan Ali Abdulmalik but earlier was competitive at the group level.

Heshem, a 6-year-old by Footstepsinthesand, appears the more likely of two entered for Al Shaqab Racing. Heshem was a surprise second behind Vivlos in the Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World (G1) on World Cup night in 2017 at Meydan and had only four starts in 2018.