Bred by Northern Farm and raced by Toji Morita, Deirdre’s first three seasons of racing were restricted largely to Japan, where she won five races, including the G1 Shuka Sho. She also took third in the G1 Dubai Turf on her first start outside her native country. Following her return visit to the Dubai World Cup meeting in 2019, Deirdre travelled on to Hong Kong and then to Newmarket, which has subsequently remained her base for an ambitious international campaign.

On her second start in Britain she became the first Japanese-trained horse to win a Group 1 contest in Europe when triumphing in the Nassau S. at Goodwood. Since then, she has run in Ireland, Saudi Arabia, France and, finally, Bahrain last month.

Yoshi Hashida, whose father Mitsuru has trained Deirdre throughout her career, told TDN, “She is going to the next phase but the moments we spent in Newmarket and around the world will be the memories we cherish forever. She will visit Galileo and probably stay in Ireland for two or three years before returning to Japan.”

Throughout her lengthy stay in England at Abington Place, Deirdre has been accompanied by her daily rider Yuta Komiyama, who has become as well known on Newmarket Heath as his famous mount.

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Supplemented at a cost of £10,000, Sovereign will be trainer Aidan O'Brien's first ever runner in Bahrain, and jockey Ryan Moore ships in to ride from post eight in the field of 14.

The Ballydoyle master said: “Sovereign is a strong mile-and-a-quarter horse. He is a very strong galloper who likes to go forward in his races, and we think the Bahrain International Trophy will suit him.”

Racecourse Media Group in partnership with the Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club have secured widespread global coverage, and the race will be shown on on Fox Sports in the United States with an approximate post time of 8:00 a.m. Eastern.

Adding further top-level interest on Nov. 20 is the Japanese-trained mare Deirdre (Mitsuru Hashida), whose big wins include last year's Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Other strong contenders include: last year's Queen Anne Stakes winner Lord Glitters representing David O'Meara, dual Canadian International Stakes winner Desert Encounter runs for David Simcock, and Saeed bin Suroor calls on 2019 Jebel Hatta victor Dream Castle.

Barney Roy has suffered a minor setback and will miss the race, but Godolphin will still be doubly represented – with Mark Johnston's Royal Ascot winner Dark Vision joining Dream Castle.

John Gosden saw Turgenev finish second in the inaugural race last year and will be hoping to go one better with Global Giant, who will be ridden by Frankie Dettori for owner HH Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Andrew Balding and King Power Racing were sixth with Pivoine in 2019 and are back this year with Bangkok – while Lady Wannabe (Fozzy Stack), Certain Lad (Mick Channon), Pogo (Charlie Hills) and Quest The Moon (Sarah Steinberg) complete the European challenge.

Two spots in the field are guaranteed for locally-trained horses, and the two Bahraini-based contenders are confirmed as Port Lions (Fawzi Naas) and What A Welcome (Hesham Al Haddad).

Shaikh Salman bin Rashed Al-Khalifa, executive director of Rashid Equestrian & Horseracing Club, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the class of horses that we have attracted to this year's Bahrain International Trophy.

“To have five individual Group One winners in the field – compared to only one last year – shows the leap in quality. We are very grateful to the trainers and owners for placing their trust in Bahrain, and we very much look forward to welcoming them.”

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“Ideally we’d have had a prep race before this but the ground went at the end of the season so we thought the best thing to do was to leave him and bring him here fresh,” Gosden said. “His work here has been good. The turf track here is world class and he’s enjoyed the faster ground. We are drawn five which we are happy about. They say the inside of the track is where you want to be. It would be wonderful to win the race for His Highness Shaikh Isa; this race was his brainchild so it would mean a lot to him.”

Speaking of global giants, the Japanese expatriat turned Newmarket resident Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) makes the final start of a career that has seen her win the G1 Shuka Sho and G1 Nassau S. The 6-year-old has not visited the winner’s enclosure since the Nassau last August and was most recently eighth in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but assistant trainer Yoshi Hasida said he thinks conditions at Sakhir will suit her. She gets a five-pound weight break from her male rivals.

“Her condition going into the Arc was perfect, but the heavy ground went against her,” Hashida said. “The French horses coped with it better. Her two Group 1 wins came on right-handed tracks at Kyoto and Goodwood. The long straight at Sakhir will suit her. The track looks very fair and we like the firm ground that we will get. We are very excited to take part in the race.”

Aidan O’Brien’s 2019 G1 Irish Derby winner Sovereign (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) reappears off a fifth-place finish in the G2 Long Distance Cup on British Champions Day on Oct. 17 over heavy ground. He reverts to 2000 metres for the first time since last spring and looks for his first win since the Irish Derby.

“I don’t think he ran too bad at Ascot, he just got tired late on,” said O’Brien. “He seems in good form since and he should like the ground. This is 10 furlongs so we’ll find out a lot; he’s in good order. He’s going there quite a fresh horse and he’s lightly raced. It looks a very good track and everyone is very positive about it.”

The Oct. 10 G3 Darley S. one-two Lady Wannabe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Dream Castle (GB) (Frankel {GB}) re-oppose here. The former put in a career-best effort last out to overhaul the Dubai Group 1 winner Dream Castle, who was returning off a two-month break having won a mile conditions race at Thirsk on Aug. 9 but gets a less favourable draw in 13.

Others of interest include last year’s G1 Queen Anne S. winner Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper), who has put in some respectable efforts this term despite being plagued by soft ground on a number of occasions; and the locally trained Port Lions (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who rides a seven-race win streak and upset Deirdre in the Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup in Saudi Arabia in February but hasn’t run since.

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The 6-year-old daughter of Nathaniel will be partnered by regular rider Frankie Dettori for trainer John Gosden, and faces a likely field of seven other talented contenders.

Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup winner Ghaiyyath, who beat both 2019 Investec Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck and Stradivarius at Newmarket. looks the principle challenger on paper.

Japan, who disappointed that day, but has a Juddmonte International win to his name, is also slated to take his chance. And the field is given an International flavor as Group 1-winning Japanese-superstar mare Deirdre in the line-up.

Magic Wand, Regal Reality and Bangkok make up the entry list.

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The 6-year-old mare has been based in Britain for more than a year, during which time she has raced in Ireland, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. She also made two appearances on British racecourses last year at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, where she became the first Japanese-bred runner to win a Group 1 race in Britain when landing the Qatar Nassau S.

Trained by Mitsuru Hashida, Deirdre has been in the constant care of her daily rider Yuta Komiyama, who was watching from the ground on Wednesday as Murphy arrived at the Al Bahathri in the company of two horses from Jane Chapple-Hyam’s stable, which is adjacent to Deirdre’s home from home in Abington Place.

Deirdre completed her strong work over the nine-furlong polytrack gallop alone and afterwards Murphy declared himself delighted with the mare, who was last seen in action at the Saudi Cup meeting, where she as beaten a head into second in the Naghi Motors Cup.

He said, “She felt great and strong, and she blew for only a few minutes afterwards. I’m very happy with her.”

Deirdre is likely to face Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in her first run of the British season at Sandown, as well as recent impressive Coronation Cup winner Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

Murphy added, “I think the race will be run at a true pace. Sandown has only one turn for the Eclipse, you jump out and it’s right-handed, which is no problem for Deirdre, and there’s an uphill finish. It’s quite stiff and the last furlong is never that fast, and I think that is when Deirdre will really be staying on. It’s going to be one of the highest-rated races in the world but I think she can run very well. I hope the sun keeps shining. The clerk of the course and the groundsmen are very good at Sandown and I hope it will be fast ground, that’s what Deirdre loves.”

Hashida’s daughter Seiko is representing her father in Britain at present and she said as Deirdre was washed down after exercise that plans for the mare will be very much on a race-by-race basis but she has the option to return to Goodwood for the Nassau.

Murphy’s busy morning was completed by a journey to Kempton to ride 2000 Guineas winner Kameko (Kitten’s Joy) in a racecourse gallop ahead of his intended run in the Derby on July 4.

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