Golden Slipper-winning thoroughbred empire Phoenix Thoroughbreds, an entity with its origins in the Middle East, is dispersing its global bloodstock portfolio and exiting the industry after years mired in controversy.
Phoenix Thoroughbreds founder, Dubai-based Bahraini Amer Abdulaziz, has sold the group’s extensive equine interests to relatively new Gulf region outfit Brookdale Racing, the co-owner of 2024 North American Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna.
While the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the acquisition of Phoenix’s horses marks a clear sign of intent by Brookdale Racing to up its presence in Australia.
At the same time, it points to the fact that Abdulaziz is cashing in his equine chips after years of speculation surrounding his large-scale investment in the international thoroughbred industry.
Brookdale Racing Pty Ltd, wholly owned by Bahrain-based Nader Hasan Moosa Jaafar Alaali, already has equity in Vinery-based sire Exceedance and a host of other Australia-domiciled horses.
As a result of the effective walk-in, walk-out deal, the company will increase its shareholding in the Vinery stallion by absorbing Phoenix’s interest.
The transfer of Phoenix’s horses has been a prolonged process over many months and it is still taking place. The transfer includes valuable William Reid Stakes-winning mare Loving Gaby, her last-start-winning daughter Just Like Gaby as well as racehorses and broodmares located in both hemispheres.
The Straight has confirmed that the transfer of those horses registered in Victoria was approved and actioned by Racing Victoria late last year, but the process is yet to be fully signed off by Racing NSW’s integrity department for horses registered with that state’s PRA.
Just Like Gaby, the first foal of Phoenix’s Group 1-winning mare Loving Gaby, won at Moonee Valley earlier this month in Brookdale Racing’s maroon and white motif silks.
Initially purchased by Maher for owner Kevin Payne for $800,000 at the 2023 Magic Millions, the Pierata filly’s sale was later voided because she failed a post-sale scope, thus remaining under the ownership of Phoenix.
Just Like Gaby is still listed as being owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds with Racing Australia and it is understood that Racing Victoria has temporarily frozen the owner’s portion of the $33,000 prize money she won at the night meeting as the filly was registered in NSW.
Racing Victoria, however, lifted the prize money freeze on all other then-Phoenix-owned horses in December.
That freeze was first put in place in 2021 due to allegations aired in a US court that Abdulaziz was involved in money laundering relating to the OneCoin cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. During public statements at the time, Abdulaziz strongly refuted the allegations.
The Straight does not suggest Abdulaziz, whose Phoenix Investments website says is a private equity firm with investments in real estate, bloodstock and the global food and beverage industry, is guilty of any criminal activity.
Experienced Australian racing and breeding industry figure David Lucas, who was registered as Brookdale Racing’s company director and secretary in early 2023, is believed to be liaising with Racing NSW to help facilitate the transfer of the horses previously owned by Phoenix.
The Queenslander began looking after Phoenix Thoroughbreds’ Australian-based horses when Abdulaziz’s equine investment fund first shot to prominence in 2017.
He left the organisation a year or two later, before returning to assist in managing their local broodmare band and racing team in the post-COVID era.
When contacted by this publication. Lucas said he was not authorised to speak about either Phoenix Thoroughbreds or Brookdale Racing
Brookdale Racing has mares boarding at Vinery, Widden and Coolmore in the Hunter Valley and is already listed as the owner of several mares registered in the Australian Stud Book once owned by Phoenix.
They include Loving Gaby, Best Stone and Tallow, the dam of Farnan and fellow stallion Sandbar.
A member of the Vinery colts syndicate for the past two years, Brookdale Racing also has a share in unraced Peter Snowden-trained two-year-old Ole Kirk colt Rivendell, who was runner-up in a Randwick barrier trial last Thursday.
Farnan winning the 2020 Golden Slipper. (Vision: YouTube)
It also holds shares in the Ciaron Maher-trained juvenile colt Stakeholder and the Robbie Griffiths-trained Superior Dame, a $1 million Ole Kirk filly who was sold at the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast in 2024.
It is estimated that Brookdale, when the transfer of ownership from Phoenix is completed, will have 35 to 40 mares based in Australia.
Brookdale Racing is also in partnership with Coolmore’s John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith in now three-year-old Wootton Bassett colt Ides Of March, a winner of the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes last August in Ireland for trainer Aidan O’Brien.
The company, Brookdale Racing, was registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in 2023 with Alaali listed as its owner.
The Straight has not been able to establish any existing connection between Alaali and Abdulaziz, apart from their Bahraini citizenship.
About the time the company Brookdale Racing was registered with ASIC, its founder Alaali owned the dual Group 1-winning northern hemisphere sprinter A Case Of You, who raced four times in Australia that autumn for trainers Mick Price and Mick Kent Jr.
An entire, A Case Of You was exported to South Africa in February last year to stand at Drakenstein Stud.
Since emerging on the global scene in 2016 and 2017, Phoenix enjoyed multiple Group 1 wins in Australia through the deeds of 2020 Golden Slipper-winning colt Farnan, now a valuable stallion standing at Kia Ora Stud, as well as Loving Gaby and Exceedance while Abdulaziz’s operation also owned Group 1 winners in Europe and America.
For some time, Phoenix also raced horses in Australia in partnership with Aquis Farm, highlighted by Farnan and Group 3-winning colt Prague, the latter sold outright to Kia Ora Stud after his two-year-old campaign.
Aquis also stood the Phoenix-owned stallion Aclaim for one season at its farm in Queensland during the 2022 breeding season. Loving Gaby and Tallow both visited the Group 1 winner, but both missed.
Phoenix retained equity in Farnan and also purchased shares in Pierata and fellow stallion Invader with Aquis. Pierata was sold to Yulong in 2023.
Aquis Farm owner Tony Fung severed ownership ties with Phoenix 13 months after the pair’s pinnacle Golden Slipper result when concerns were raised about Abdulaziz’s bona fides and alleged connection to the OneCoin scandal.
Racing NSW and Racing Victoria froze Phoenix’s prize money in 2021 in reaction to the alleged links to OneCoin, the subject of a BBC podcast series The Missing Crypto Queen.
The intense scrutiny placed on Abdulaziz, who also raced 2019 Dubai World Cup runner-up Gronkowski, US Grade 1 winner Volatile and three-time European Group 1 winner Advertise, led to Phoenix exiting racing in England more than four years ago. French authorities also banned Phoenix from owning horses in that country.
An international representative of Brookdale Racing was contacted by The Straight while attempts made to reach Abdulaziz were unsuccessful.
It is believed that Abdulaziz has been residing in New York in recent years.
