Canadian Apprentice wins HH Sheikh Fatima bint Mubarak race in Poland
26 August 2015, Warsaw, Poland ~ Ameretto proved his class once again as one of the top Purebred Arabian horses racing in Europe winning the Polish leg of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s Group 3 Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup and with it the European Triple Crown for the fourth year in a row.
Ameretto, the 9-year-old son of Amer, was beaten to second spot by Lahoob in Duindigt, and had to win on Sunday to claim the European Triple Crown and the bonus of €50,000. The first leg winner Al Mouwaffak in Toulouse and Lahoob were not running in this final leg and Ameretto’s task was certain.
With Italian Mauro Manueddu on board, Ameretto showed what a great champion he is as he came up with his traditional stretch run to win the 2,600-metre race at the Sluzewiec Racetrack in Warsaw on 23 August. Ussam de Carrere, ridden by V. Popov took second place while Alladyn under S. Mazur, finished third. The winner covered the 2600-metre distance in three minutes.
“Ameretto is a wonderful horse. He was going well and responded keenly when I asked him the question in the home straight,” said winning jockey Manueddu.
Trainer Gunter Richter said “Last year we decided to retire him to stud, but he continued to win and the connections felt he should stay in competition.”
Ameretto will now be retired to stud. The owners are looking forward to his first foals in 2016.
In the Festival’s second race of the day, Canadian apprentice jockey Brandon Duchaine brought Kasir Al Khalediah home in the sixth round of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship.
The 23-year-old Canadian apprentice jockey said he was over the moon after securing a berth in a dream final of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice Championship in Abu Dhabi.
“I think I owe it to a lucky draw which made me the ride on such a high-class horse,” he said. “The instructions were to keep Kasir Al Khalediah behind the early pace and to let him run in the home straight, but I was truly astonished with the smooth progress which he made to hit the front and sprint home unchallenged,” Duchaine said.
The winner covered the mile’s distance in 1:50:22 seconds to win by four lengths. English rider Sophie Killoran finished second onboard Sirego and behind them came Fucksuss under the South African apprentice Collen Storey.
The races were attended by Jansuz Piechocinski, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, along with UAE Ambassador to Poland Dr. Yousif Eisa Hassan Eisa Al Sabri, and Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairperson of the Int’l Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) and Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees (IFAHR), sports officials and a large number of racing fans.
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, National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. LLC, 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 Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2015, Bloom, Rise General Trading Co. LLC, Petromal, Hayatna, Dr. Nader Saab Switzerland, Al Wathba Center, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Yas Channel, Omeir Travels, Racing Post and Laboratories Fadia Karam Cosmetics.
– end report by Satya