Sheikh Zayed Cup Group 1 race attracts quality field
8 April 2015, UK ~ The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival has once again picked an important international race meeting to stage the two flagship Purebred Arabian horse races and ensure the spotlight is on the racing skills of Arabian horses.
On Saturday, May 9, the Lingfield Park racecourse in the United Kingdom will be filled with racing fans hoping to watch a possible future Derby winner on the track as the Derby Trial is worked off. On the same day the Betfred Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes (Group 3) and The Betfred Oaks Trial Stakes (Listed) races are also held.
But kick-starting the meeting at Lingfield Park will be the HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival’s HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR); a premier handicap for UK trained horses and International lady riders followed by the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, a Group 1 PA race for top quality international horses.
Ten Lady Jockeys
Ten lady jockeys line up in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR); a premier handicap for UK trained horses for the mile’s contest.
Last year’s winner of the Morocco leg, Korean Lee Keum Joo will be on Noble Athlete while Japan’s Aoi Kinomae will be on Man Of Dreams. Gillian Duffield saddles Mazaaya under French lady jockey Pauline Boisgontier for owner HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance while Altesse Kossack, a winner of this race when run in Newbury is also be in the fray.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup Group 1
In the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup Group 1 race, Gillian Duffield saddles three runners for owner HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance. Al Hibab a Group 1 winner in August last year in Newbury will be under Tadhg O’Shea while the younger 4-year-old Mahabb filly Salaama will face a severe test after a winning debut in a Group 2 race last year. Duffield’s third runner is Radames.
Damien de Watrigant-trained Ghazwa will be ridden by big-race jockey Olivier Peslier and after a couple of spirited Group 1 runs finished off last year with a Group 3 win and will be making a determined effort on Saturday.
Dutch trainer Karin van den Bos has so much success in the Festival that her runner Samima will garner a fair amount of support in the ring in this dirt contest over a mile with a total prize fund of 70,000 British Pounds.
Race cards:[gview file=”https://horsereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Lingfield-Park-Arabian-Racecard-9515.pdf” save=”1″]
Race Previews/Verdicts from Gary Capewell:
12.40
Altesse Kossack won this corresponding race two years ago but ideally she would prefer slightly further nowadays. Man Of Dreams is now back down to his last winning mark and has won first time out for the past two seasons so he’s very interesting. Kamikaze needs a career best but was transformed for the fitting of a hood last year. Mazaaya is unexposed but her inexperience for a race of this nature is a concern. So the pick is Zayin Zachillies who has a penalty to carry for last week’s success. That was over 12f but he’s a three-time winner over 7f and he’s already proved his well-being this term.
13.10
A top quality contest. Between them they have won nine pattern races in eight different countries. Vlastelin Kolec is a fascinating runner but it’s impossible to equate his Russian form. Salaama was impressive despite being green in her two victories as a juvenile. This is a tough introduction to Group 1 company but it would be no surprise for her to go close. Al Hibaab is a dual Group winner and is officially the highest rated so he won’t be easy to beat. Samima is another Group winner and likely pace setter so she could get the run of the race. However Ghazwa is the selection for a trainer that has a 32% strike rate here in the UK. She had some useful form in France last year ending with a victory at Toulouse and Olivier Peslier looks a significant jokey booking.
Lingfield Park chief hails Festival’s support
Andrew Perkins, Executive Director of Lingfield Park Resort, said the inclusion of the Arabian races promised an action-packed day on Saturday.
“We are delighted to welcome this prestigious HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival to Lingfield Park and feel it sits very well with our Betfred Derby Trial day, which we have been proud to host for more than 80 years. This year we also have Derby legend jockey Lester Piggott joining us with the actual Oaks and Derby trophies, so it’s a real day for celebration,” Perkins said.
“The introduction of the Arabian horses is another example of how we continue to bring variety and entertainment to an already packed racing program at one of Britain’s busiest racecourses,” he said.
Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairman of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairman of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) said: “It is a moment of great pride for us to stage the Festival’s races during the Derby trials in Lingfield Park. Further the quality of horses entered in the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup Group 1 race is sure to result in an exciting finish. The ladies’ championship race will also be a keenly contested affair and we hope the large number of fans enjoy Arabian racing.”
The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare with The National Archives as the official partner and Emirates airline as the official carriers and sponsored by Invest AD, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Al Wathba Centre, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2015, Dr. Nader Saab Switzerland, Al Wathba Center, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Yas Channel, Omeir Travels and Racing Post.
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