Horse Racing
The Rise Of Wathnan Racing: Who Is The Owner, Stable Jockey and Colours?
Andy is a horse racing journalist and betting expert who specializes in trends and stats. With his long association with TrainersQuotes and FromTheStables, Andy has also built up solid contacts with some of the best stables in the UK. Has written for GeeGeez and bookmakers Matchbook and BetBright in the past too, plus was the former sports betting editor of odds comparison site Easyodds and Juicestorm. Has also appeared on betting podcasts for MatchBook and has featured in the popular Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Guide in the past. Andy's also ghost written for former top jockey Richard Dunwoody and continues to have a monthly column in the Racing Ahead horse racing magazine. Now a regular on Sportscasting giving his views, trends and tips mainly on horse racing - if there's a stat to be explored and it's a sport, Andy is sure to find a betting angle to use.
Get to know Andy Newton betterPublished02 Aug 2024
Wathnan Racing continue to take the world of horse racing by storm after entering the sport in 2023, but just who is behind the mega-rich and increasingly famous blue and gold racing silks?
Who Are Wathnan Racing?
Back in the summer of 2023, horse racing fans saw the overnight introduction of some new colours when Wathnan Racing started appearing on racecards.
This led to many asking, just who are Wathnan Racing?
It was believed that they wanted to enter the sport quietly, but this was never going to be the case when they started buying some of the best horses in training – albeit just a handful to start with.
The 2023 Royal Ascot meeting was when they emerged and all ideas of going under the radar disappeared when one of the horses they bought – Gregory – landed the Queen’s Vase at that meeting.
Then, just days later, with tongues wagging, their profile shot up several more notches when they won the biggest Royal Ascot race of them all – the Gold Cup.
They managed this with a horse called Courage Mon Ami (watch below), who was ridden by Frankie Dettori in his last ever outing in the Gold Cup, after buying this improving young stayer off A E Oppenheimer for an undisclosed fee.
From their opening three runners – they fired in two winners and won £522,702 in total prize money – not bad, hey?
WATCH: Courage Mon Ami and Wathnan Racing Winning The Ascot Gold Cup In 2023
Who Is Pulling The Wathnan Racing Strings?
Similar to the big ‘reveals’ at the end of a whodunit movie, it wasn’t long before horse racing fans where Googling who was behind Wathnan Racing, with their only clue to go on is that they must be very wealthy.
This led racing sleuths towards the Arab racing world and this is where they landed on another big-spending Middle-East group being behind the latest big horse racing owners, who were also involved in owning PSG football club.
Oh, and he also oversaw Qatar’s successful b id to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup – in short, he’s not short of a few bob.
The Emir Of Qatar Is The Man Behind Wathnan Racing
Yes, the big reveal told us that it’s the Emir Of Qatar – one of the richest men around and the current ruler of Qatar – Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, who is at the Wathnan Racing helm.
He is also brother to Sheikh Joaan, who runs Al Shaqab Racing and his cousin is Sheikh Fahad of Qatar Racing. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising he’s also found his way into the heart of UK horse racing ownership.
The Emir of Qatar is reported to have a net worth of up to £1.6 billion, while his ruling family is believed to have approx. £276 billion in the bank.
This meant they were able to hit the ground running when it came to purchasing their horses and turned to Richard Brown of Blanford Bloodstock to get them ‘under starters orders’.
In 2023 Richard Brown told the Racing Post How It Began
“Olly Tait and I lived next to each other when we first moved to Newmarket 25 years ago. We formed a friendship and have been good mates ever since. It was Easter Sunday when Olly called me about this project.”
“Obviously Wathnan Racing had been to the horses-in-training sales and bought quite a few horses to go to Qatar, and I’d quietly helped Olly with a few things like valuations in the background.”
“He told me he’d been to Qatar and the horses they’d bought had worked out well, so the owners would like to have a go at racing in Britain. He asked if I’d help and obviously, I was blown away to even be asked.”
Brown added: “They are extraordinary to deal with. I report to Olly and then he deals with the guys in Qatar, but everything has been completely straightforward. We’re very focused and disciplined in what we’re trying to do.”
James Doyle Is The Wathnan Racing Retained Jockey
Top veteran jockey Frankie Dettori guided home Wathnan Racing’s 2023 Royal Ascot winners – Gregory and Courage Mon Ami – but with the pocket Italian saying he was retiring at the end of that season they were on the hunt for a new jockey.
Yes, it turned out Dettori did a retirement U-turn, but he went off to ride in the US anyway – which is why Wathnan Racing turned to the younger James Doyle to be their number one retained jockey.
UK and Irish racing lovers will know Doyle well from his time employed with the ‘boys in blue’ of Godolphin. However, in more recent years Doyle became understudy to one of the top 5 best jockeys in the world according to AI – William Buick.
Doyle told the Racing Post in 2023 “It is a tremendous honour for me to sign for Wathnan. It’s an amazing opportunity for me going forward with His Highness Sheikh Tamim’s Wathnan Racing and I’m greatly looking forward to working with Olly Tait, Richard Brown and the rest of the team.”
Before his 9-year stint with Godolphin, James Doyle was also the main jockey for Khalid Abdullah – the main that owned top horses like Enable and Frankel.
What Are The Wathnan Racing Colours?
The Wathnan Racing colours and silks are a blue body with gold sleeves and a red cap (see below).
How Many Horses Do Wathnan Racing Have?
With Wathnan Racing strengthening their stable towards the end of 2023 and early 2024, it’s believed they’ve grown from having just three horses in May/June 23 to now having close to 50 horses running in their colours.
These horses are also spread across over 15 different trainers – these include Roger Varian, Ed Walker, Ralph Beckett, William Haggas and H Al Jehani – to name just a handful.
How Many Winners Have Wathnan Racing Had?
Of course, this number is only going to increase week-by-week, but from August 1st 2024, Wathnan Racing have sent out 22 winners.
The bulk of the Wathnan Racing winners have come with their 2 year-olds – including Leovanni, who won the 2024 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot (watch below).
Wathnan Racing Had Four Royal Ascot Winners In 2024
The big spending of Wathnan Racing is starting to pay off after they sent out four Royal Ascot winners in 2024.
You can see the list below, with the Richard Hannon-trained Haatem one of their highlights after backing up his close second to Rosallion in the Irish 2,000 Guineas with a win in the Jersey Stakes (watch below).
- Queen Mary Stakes – Leovanni
- Norfolk Stakes – Shareholder
- Buckingham Palace Stakes – English Oak
- Jersey Stakes – Haatem
Who Is The Emir Of Qatar?
The Emir Of Qatar – Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani – is the monarch and head of state of the country and is also the commander-in-chief of the Qatar armed forces.
The Qatar ruling family are regulars in the world of horse racing with the Emir’s brother Sheikh Joaan being the head of Al Shaqab Racing, wo are one of the major sponsors behind the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe, which is run in early October each year in France.
His uncle is Shiekh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thai, who is an owner-breeder too, like his son Sheikh Fahad – the main behind Qatar Racing and with his brothers the supporters of the QIPCO British Champions Day Series.