Al Riffa continues world tour in new French Group 1 race Globetrotter Al Riffa will contest Longchamp’s newly-promoted Prix Vicomtesse Vigier on May 21, with trainer Joseph O’Brien reporting the six-year-old stayer to have freshened up following a recent Meydan defeat. Winner of the National Stakes as a juvenile, Al Riffa won the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin in 2024 and having since raced in France, Saudi Arabia, England, Hong Kong and in November’s Melbourne Cup, most recently finished mid-field in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March. The six-year-old stayer will next contest the Longchamp race, which has been promoted to Group 1 status this year, and trainer O’Brien reports “Al Riffa will go to France for the new Group 1 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier (May 21), which is another two-mile race. “It was a disappointing effort in Meydan the last day, but it was a messy race as well. In fairness to the horse though, he almost never disappoints us and he has freshened up well since. After that race, he’d be most likely to go to the Hardwicke Stakes (Royal Ascot), where he finished second last year.” O’Brien’s retained champion jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle returns from injury in the coming fortnight and the trainer added “It will be great to have Dylan back in the next ten days or so. He got a fall in Hong Kong where he fractured a vertebra, and it is six or seven weeks since it happened. He isn’t back riding out yet, but is hoping to be back riding around May 2.”
