Frankie Dettori and James Doyle out of luck as Adrie de Vries steals show

Frankie Dettori and James Doyle were out of luck in Bahrain on Friday, with Adrie de Vries instead taking the honours with a big-race treble in Sakhir.

The Dutchman won the feature race, the His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Cup, on Port Lions, finishing two lengths ahead of Doyle’s mount Rustang, trained by Allan Smith. Dettori was back in sixth on last year’s winner and the runner-up’s stablemate, Thorkhill Star.

At Sakhir racecourse: (left to right) William Buick, Frankie Dettori, HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, James Doyle, Rosie Jessop, Rahim Jasim and Allan SmithCredit: Rehc

Both Rustang and Thorkhill Star featured in the inaugural Bahrain International Trophy in November, won by the French-trained Royal Julius at the same course with Rustang third.

Dettori fared better on the card when second on News Breaker in the other Cup, run in honour of HRH Prince Salman, which De Vries won on the Fawzi Nass-trained Pulsar.

Nass and De Vries were also on the mark with Al Tariq in the Bahrain Derby, with Dettori back in third on Shawwash.

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