9 August 2017, UK ~ The Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) looks forward to hosting the first UAE Abu Dhabi Day at Chelmsford City Racecourse this Saturday, 12 August 2017. This is the first time the UK stages of the HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Gr1PA), and the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies and Apprentice World Championships (IFAHR) will be run together on the same card.
The three supporting races are under the Wathba Stallions banner, all run as part of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Global Arabian Flat Horse Racing Festival. The six-race fixture is staged as part of Chelmsford’s successful music night series, the event will conclude with live music from UB40.
Declarations for the HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Gr1PA) include proven older horses such as Kalino, the winner of the 2015 HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (Gr1 PA), the world’s richest Arabian horse race, with a prize fund of €1.2 million.
Also lining up are fellow Group winners Al Mouwaffak, Aghsaan and Macallan, whilst Mith’haf Athbah and Lou Raynal have also been Group placed.
The HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) offers the valuable opportunity for professional and amateur lady riders to compete and exchange experiences. The line-up on Saturday includes Germany’s Tamara Hofer, who has ridden over 73 winners from 700 rides. Representing the UK for the amateurs is Ellie Mackenzie, currently heading the ARO Ladies Championship and is also just behind the leader in the Silks Series for lady riders riding under Thoroughbred rules.
The HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship (IFAHR) UK stage promises to be a highly competitive renewal with four of the ten apprentices already tasting success at the Essex track. Both Milly Naseb (Jordan) and Jordan Uys (Zimbabwe) boast a remarkable 19% strike rate at the course. We also welcome Paddy Pilley (UK), who in addition to being the most experienced of the riders (41 wins from 535 rides), has also drawn last years’ winner, Emiraaty. This is not to forget Manuel Fernades of Portugal, apprenticed to Newmarket trainer Sir Mark Prescott, and who is on a roll with three winners from his last four Thoroughbred rides.
Full Racecard:[googlepdf url=”https://horsereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Racecard-4-1.pdf” download=”Download” ]
This meeting is the highlight of HH Sheikh Mansoor Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival events in the UK, for the first time to be run as part of a full evening of Purebred Arabian racing at Chelmsford City racecourse. The winning riders of both the Ladies and Apprentice races will qualify to ride in the series finals, held in Abu Dhabi on 12 November 2017, which supports the world’s richest Arabian horse race, the HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (Gr1 PA).
Gemma Cobb, ARO Racing Operations Executive said: “ARO is extremely grateful for the continued support of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival and of its’ Executive Director, Lara Sawaya. I am looking forward to seeing some very competitive Arabian racing at this track, as our meetings have always been very well received by the local racegoers and the meeting has been sold out for a number of weeks now. It is also an honour to facilitate the running of Chelmsford City’s first ever Group 1 race to be staged at the course.”
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