August 23, 2013, Warsaw ~ At a press conference held at the Sheraton Hotel in Warsaw on Thursday to announce details of the Sunday, August 25, UAE Day of racing, the Sluzewiec race course Director Wlodzimierz Bakowski remarked on how the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival has played a huge role in the revival of breeding of Purebred Arabian race horses in the country.
“For about ten years there was a huge decline in the breeding of Purebred Arabian racehorses. In the last four years since the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival started organizing races here in Poland and the region, and we have witnessed a surge in breeding and this augurs well for the future of Arabian racing,” he said.
“It is both a challenge as well as a matter of pride to be staging both the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Group 3) Nagroda Europy and the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship races on August 25 here in Warsaw,” Bakowski continued.
HE Asim Mirza Al Rahman, the UAE’s Ambassador to Poland, also addressed the well-attended press conference: “These races are not only highly important on the local calendar but with the participation of horses from all over the world they have become truly international,” the UAE envoy said.
HE Al Rahmah and Ms Lara Sawaya, Director of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and Head of International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) for Ladies Racing also announced that Poland would be the host country for the 2015 Arabian Horse Racing Conference.
“The UAE Embassy here in Poland and the Polish Jockey Club have helped in making the Festival’s races a huge success. This Sunday’s Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Group 3) gains added importance as it is the third leg of the European Triple Challenge after Duindigt and Berlin, and the winner with maximum points from the three legs will gain a bonus of Euros 30,000. This is in addition to the Euros 20,000 prize money for the Prestige (Group 3) race,” Ms Sawaya said.
“Twelve lady jockeys will be taking part in the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship, the draw for which was held recently and with Euros 20,000 on offer this makes it one of the richest for ladies racing. Poland is one of the 12 races that comprise the world championship which culminates in Abu Dhabi later this year,” she revealed.
“The HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival which started with four races in 2009 will this year stage a total of 73 races in 24 countries and this series, which is the biggest ever, will touch 94 races next year,” the Festival’s Director added.
Feliks Klimczak, President of the Polish Jockey Club said, “Poland’s contribution to Arabian racing is special and almost all top champion horses will have some connection to Poland. This Festival provides us a great opportunity for our country to showcase the quality of our Arabian horses while making Sluzewiec race course an international venue.”
And in another major boost to the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Wojciech Szpil, President of Totalizator Sportowy, confirmed that both the Purebred Arabian races will be part of the live coverage in Poland.
The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is organized by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and co-ordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR and Emirates Arabian Horse Society, supported by General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare and Fegentri with Emirates airlines as the official carrier and sponsored by Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Invest AD, Arabtec Holding PJSC, Al Rashid Investment, Areej Al Ameerat, 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 2013, Dr. Nader Saab Switzerland, Wathba Stud Farm, Al Wathba Center, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Hotel and SPA and Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah.
~end press release