Fairy Glen staged a stunning reversal of fortunes at the Qatar Prix de Royallieu, moving from the back of the field to overtake the odds‑on favourite Sunly and secure a Group One triumph for the Newmarket training partnership of Simon and Ed Crisford. The five‑year‑old mare, under the guidance of jockey Mickael Barzalona, was positioned at the rear of a strong field that also included Consent, Cameo, Sugar Island and Amelia Earhart.
As the race unfolded over a mile and six furlongs, the early pace was honest but not excessive, allowing Fairy Glen to settle comfortably before launching a powerful late run. Sunly, who had been backed into favourite status at 5‑6, took the lead with about a furlong left to run. However, Barzalona timed his move perfectly, guiding Fairy Glen wide and around the outside as the finish approached. The filly surged past Sunly in the final strides, winning by a neck in a dramatic finish that left the spectators on their feet.
Amelia Earhart, a proven St Leger placer, fought valiantly and held on for third place, finishing roughly three‑quarters of a length behind the winner. The result was a testament to Fairy Glen's tenacity and the skillful tactics employed by her connections.
The victory carries additional significance because Fairy Glen is slated for retirement at the end of the season. Earlier in the spring, she captured the Group Two Balanchine and the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan, and she had previously finished fifth in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier behind Caballo De Mar in May. A recent second‑place finish in a Listed race at Yarmouth served as a useful warm‑up for the Group One challenge. After the race, Ed Crisford reflected on the plan that had been discussed with Barzalona long before the start.
"Exactly what Mickael said would happen did happen – he said they'd get racing a long way out," Crisford explained. "He knows her intimately from their time together in Dubai and wanted to give her a patient ride. They did get racing a long way out, he was following Sunly through and she's a game filly.
She's never going to win by two or three lengths, but she gets the job done." Crisford also highlighted that Fairy Glen might have been capable of winning at Yarmouth a few weeks earlier, noting that the race there was her first run after a summer break and the team deliberately avoided a hard test to preserve her for the target race. "She’s a really good filly and she’s won a Group One.
She will be retired at the end of this year, whether there’s another race for her… she is in at Ascot on Champions Day and there might be something back here," he said. "We’ll talk to her owner, but we might be able to fit another race in before she goes to stud." The win adds another chapter to Fairy Glen’s impressive résumé and underscores the strategic patience of her trainer‑jockey team. It also illustrates the unpredictable nature of top‑level flat racing, where a well‑timed ride can overturn even the strongest betting favourite.
In other news from the Qatar meeting, Wimbledon Hawkeye continued his promising first campaign for owner George Scott with a victory in the Qatar Prix Dollar at Longchamp. The son of the 2020 champion Kameko was acquired privately by the Victorious Forever operation during the off‑season and has already justified the purchase. After a Group Three win at Deauville and a narrow defeat to Hotazhell in last month’s Irish Champion Stakes, the colt, ridden again by Christophe Soumillon, proved to be the class of the field in the Group Two contest, winning by half a length over Zaydann.
Scott praised his charge, saying, "He’s a class horse – he’s proven that time and time again this year. He was a bit fresh beforehand and I was a bit apprehensive how fresh he was, but he travelled into it like a really good horse." The win sparked speculation about future targets, but the Qatar Racing Champion Stakes odds were dramatically cut, and a Champions Day appearance at Ascot is not currently on the agenda. Instead, Scott hinted at a new direction for the colt: "I think he’ll be perfect for Bahrain. Shaikh Nasser has put his foot down, there’ll be no Champion Stakes.
I want to do what the boss wants to do and he’s right – we want to take a fresh horse to Shaikh Nasser’s home. He was bought for Bahrain so this is all a bonus really.
I’ll give him a week in the field when he gets home and the Bahrain International is going to be the perfect race for him." Soumillon, the winning rider, also expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership: "It’s cool to be associated with Christophe. He’s not someone I know very well and I’ve had a bit of a man crush on him since he started riding! He’s got that charisma like Oisin (Murphy) and Frankie (Dettori) – they’re just one‑offs." Both Fairy Glen’s dramatic upset and Wimbledon Hawkeye’s continued ascent illustrate the depth of talent present at the Qatar meeting, offering fans a blend of veteran experience and emerging brilliance. The outcomes also reinforce the importance of patient training, strategic race placement, and the subtle art of timing a ride to perfection.
As the season progresses, the racing world will be watching closely to see where these talented horses head next, whether it be a final Group One for Fairy Glen before her retirement or a new chapter for Wimbledon Hawkeye in the Middle East.