Middleham Park Racing’s well-travelled Brave Emperor will try to break new ground as he bids for further Group success in Qatar on Saturday.

The gelding is one of racing’s most prolific globetrotters and has brought home significant prize money from Italy, Germany, France and Sweden in the last year alone – as well as winning on home turf.

He won the Listed Prix de la Californie at Cagnes-Sur-Mer last term before travelling around Europe to pick up three Group Three events and the Group Two Premio Vittorio Di Capua at San Siro in November.

Now Archie Watson’s charge will return to action at the same level in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup at the Amir Sword meeting in Qatar this weekend.

The bay is currently settling in ahead of his first run in the Middle East and will compete for a total prize fund of nearly £400,000, with the winning connections taking home over £225,000.

“He’s the second top-rated for the race, he definitely deserves his chance and it’s fantastic prize money,” said Tim Palin of Middleham Park.

“It’s going to be the experience of a lifetime for the half a dozen owners going over.

“It’s going to be once in a lifetime, for all they’ve tasted success in Milan and Sweden, twice in Germany and in France as well.

“He’s a real globetrotting horse, he’s the perfect horse. He’s a Group Two winner and three times a Group Three winner.

“He was originally purchased as a yearling by Robson Aguiar and we bought him privately as a two-year-old just before the breeze-ups.

“He’s been an absolute revelation for us and everybody has experienced a fantastic journey with him. Hopefully he’ll continue to acquit himself well on Saturday.”

Saint Lawrence will attempt to continue on his upward curve in Haydock’s Betfair Sprint Cup next month, with connections keen to praise Archie Watson’s influence since taking over training duties.

The five-year-old has been at the peak of his powers since switching to Watson earlier in the season and having won the Wokingham at Royal Ascot on stable debut, proved he could be a force in the leading sprint events with a near-miss in Deauville’s Prix Maurice de Gheest.

Although beaten half a length in third, things could have been different for Saint Lawrence granted a smoother passage in the contest, but the performance was enough to convince connections to continue campaigning the speedster in Group One company, with a trip to Merseyside on September 9 up next.

“He was probably a bit unlucky in the run,” said David Hilton, stud manager at owner John Deer’s Oakgrove Stud.

“The first and second probably got first run and he’s just had to wait and then he’s made up ground in the final furlong on ground which is probably not ideal for him, it was very tacky and holding ground.

“There will be stronger Group Ones but at the same time that might just suit him. They didn’t go that quick, probably sensibly on that ground, but his likely next target is going to be the Haydock Sprint Cup where they are bound to go very fast.”

Saint Lawrence is a son of owner Deer’s popular multiple Group One winner Al Kazeem, who last year was one of the leading British sires of three-year-olds in terms of winners to runners percentage.

However, even though Saint Lawrence’s achievements further highlight Al Kazeem’s impact in the breeding sheds, it is Watson’s handling of the resurgent sprinter that has been the catalyst for the gelding taking his form to a new level.

“It’s all credit to Archie and his team really,” continued Hilton. “They have found improvement in the horse and John and the Deer family are delighted, especially with the horse being by Al Kazeem. It’s very exciting.

“I think what Archie has done with him in a short space of time is astonishing really. He has run two lifetime bests in a row and he’s still improving. Both of those races since Archie has had him, he’s really tanked through the race and it’s possible we are maybe still learning about him and just scratching the surface.

“He does have some really good form as a young horse and then had a few problems mid-season as a three-year-old which probably led to the horse losing a bit of confidence.

“We decided as a team after his second run this year that a change of scenery was probably the right thing to do and Archie was probably the obvious choice given his track record of improving horses and also there is probably no better trainer of sprinters in the country at the minute. He has a fantastic record and a team going places.”

Archie Watson has some fine sprinters in his care and Action Point signalled himself as another top prospect, taking the Listed Ire-Incentive – It Pays To Buy Irish Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury.

Hollie Doyle was positive from the start of the six-furlong heat and the son of Blue Point was always happy on the front end, travelling sweetly.

Though the 14-1 shot was tracked by the well-supported Asadna, with the former George Boughey-trained colt making his debut for Alice Haynes, the 5-4 favourite failed to pick up when Oisin Murphy asked the question two furlongs out.

Action Point, who had won on his Kempton all-weather debut in April, but had been drawn on the wrong side when 15th of 23 home in the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot, kept finding more and had plenty in the locker to fend off Shagraan, who made late headway to snatch second from Asadna.

Cogitate may have caught trainer Charlie Hills by surprise, yet signalled himself a smart prospect after producing an eyecatching debut, sparking Doyle’s double on the card.

The 14-1 chance took the first division of the R &M Electrical EBF Novice Stakes with some aplomb.

The son of Churchill travelled well throughout and picked up long-time leader and eventual third Maximum Dividend with ease inside the final furlong, and went on to beat the staying-on Boiling Point by two lengths.

Hills will now target the Acomb Stakes at York, a race the Lambourn yard has won three times with Auction House (1998), Dutch Connection (2014) and Phoenix Of Spain (2018).

He told Racing TV: “He took everything well in his stride, in the preliminaries, went down nice, jumped good and it was a little bit muddling, a little bit messy mid-race, a few horses a bit green, but he got into a good rhythm and the gap opened. He was a little bit green for a couple of strides and then he picked up nicely.

“I wasn’t quite expecting him to do that today. He qualifies for races like the Acomb now, so York, that could suit him well and we have won that a couple of times before. That could be a race we have in mind – that’s a nice gap until then. He’s going to make a lovely three-year-old.”

Warm Spell was a warm order to land the second division and the 8-11 favourite duly obliged under a hand-and-heels ride from David Egan.

Runner-up to the smart Thunder Blue at Goodwood on debut, the Roger Varian-trained Mehmas colt had clearly learned plenty for the experience and Egan was keen to settle him in behind early, before producing a withering run to coast past debutant Skukuza, with Thyer staying on nicely for third.

Varian was in two minds about jumping up to seven furlongs so quickly and said: “David did a good job, he settled in straight from the stalls, he travelled nicely through the race and showed a nice turn of foot. Hopefully he’s a nice horse going forward.

“I think now we’ve gone over seven (furlongs), I think we’ll stick to seven.

“We’ve always felt he’s quite a nice horse and there are some nice two-year-old races coming up and he probably is a horse where we can dip our toe into something nicer, but quite what that is, we’ll have to see what fits.”

Irish raider Night Sparkle (9-2) showed plenty of determination under Dylan Browne McMonagle to take victory in the Uhy Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants Fillies’ Handicap for trainer Michael O’Callaghan.

She followed up her cosy Fairyhouse success last month in fine style, fending off the late thrust of Flash Bardot to score by a comfortable neck in the extended 13-furlong contest.

O’Callaghan may look to York for her next run and said: “It was great and a nice pot to win. She is progressive.

“Dylan is a great young rider and gave her a great ride. He picked her up early in the straight as after riding her at Fairyhouse, he knew all she’d do was stay.

“She stays all day – that’s her asset. We might possibly look at big staying handicaps. I thought earlier in the year she might be one for the Irish Cesarewitch, but maybe we might just look at the Ebor consolation race. We’ll see.

“You just don’t know where these improving mares might stop. She’s won that off top weight and is possibly capable of getting a bit of black type.”

Georgina Nicholls sent out her first Flat winner in almost 20 years as Betties Bay took the bet365 British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes under Joshua Bryan, beating Bourgeoisie by a nose.

A drop in grade helped the Sir Michael Stoute-trained grey Fox Journey (11-8 favourite) to victory in the Quickmove Handicap under Jim Crowley, his stamina proving too much for Sovereign Spirit.

Archie Watson is gearing up to send his biggest team to Royal Ascot next week, with King’s Stand Stakes contender Bradsell expected to fly the flag for the Upper Lambourn yard.

Last year’s winner of the Coventry Stakes on only his second start, he has run twice this term since finishing fourth in the Group One Phoenix at the Curragh last August.

Both of those outings have seen him finish third, in the Commonwealth Cup Trial at Ascot and the Sandy Lane at Haydock.

Though each of his five career starts have come over six furlongs, Watson is rolling the dice and going back in trip with the son of Tasleet.

He said: “We supplemented him for the King’s Stand. I thought on both his runs this season he travelled very strongly and shaped like a five-furlong horse. He’s run two very solid races and has really sharpened up.

“That is the route we are going and it is very sporting of Sheikh Nasser to supplement him and I’ve been delighted with him at home. Hopefully, he will have a campaign over five furlongs for the rest of the season.”

In only his seventh full season with a licence, having previously been an assistant to William Haggas, Watson has built a formidable CV which includes Ascot victories in the Windsor Castle Stakes, British Champions Sprint and the Coventry.

Glen Shiel provided Watson with his first Group One winner in 2020, two years after Soldier’s Call had scored in the Windsor Castle. And he will send another top juvenile team to the Berkshire venue, with Army Ethos tackling the Coventry, carrying the same colours as Bradsell for Victorious Racing and Fawzi Nass.

An easy three-and-a-quarter-length winner on debut at Ayr, Watson said: “He is a very nice colt. Ayr was always the plan and he won his race nicely.

“I think a lot of him. Obviously it looks a very strong Coventry on paper with Aidan’s horse (River Tiber), but I’m sure he will run a very good race and then go on to be a proper six-furlong stakes horse this year.”

Action Point, the first winner for first-season sire Blue Point, will run in the Windsor Castle, having won on debut and then finished runner-up to Maximum Impact at Ascot.

Watson said: “He’s a very nice horse, who has come on a lot physically from his last run.

“Reveiller, who won at Salisbury a couple of weekends ago, will go to the Norfolk and Lightning Leo, who won a strong-looking seven-furlong race at Yarmouth, goes to the Chesham, all being well.

“Aaddeey will go to the Copper Horse. He has done nothing wrong and won nicely on his first start for us. He probably would prefer a bit of cut in the ground, but I’m sure it will be lovely racing ground there.

“We are very lucky to have 15 or so horses going there. None of them are going to be favourites. They are 12-1 to 20-1 shots at a minimum, but I’m very happy with them all and they all deserve to be there, so fingers crossed.”