Mahogany HVP and Orchestra RACH win HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival Races in Brazil
24 July 2016, Sao Paolo ~ Mahogany HVP has won the GP Munjiz Wathba Stud Farm Cup while Orchestra RACH bagged the GP Unchained Melody Wathba Stud Farm Cup in Saturday’s Arabian Racing Day at the Sao Paulo Jockey Club which was organized under the umbrella of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
The two races, carrying a prize fund of €15,000 each, were held under the instruction of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
The GP Munjiz-Wathba Stud Farm Cup was a turf contest run over 1400 metres. With a great finish between the final three it was Marei RACH that hit the front on the final straight soon joined by Heron MVP with the two battling it out stride for stride. Then from the outside came Mahagany HVP under jockey Marcos Ribiero with a breezy run. With less than 100 metres left Mahagany HVP caught and overtook Marei RACH and Heron HVP to win this hotly-contested race.
Mahagony HVP completed the 7-furlong race in 1:35.58 and the winner was saddled by Eduardo Garcia for owner/breeder Agropecuaria Vila dos Pinheiros.
Heron HVP was the winner of last year’s HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship (IFAHR) under Brazilian Apprentice jockey Roberlei Viana Filho.
GP Unchained Melody Wathba Stud Farm Cup
The Festival’s second race was a 1200-metre contest on the dirt and was open to mares. With the €15,000 on offer some of the country’s best runners were in the fray and eventually a great effort by jockey Uanderson Silva on the Lucas Quintano-trained Orchestra RACH ended on a winning note.
Once Orchestra hit the front there was only a brief challenge from Zinia VE, but it was Silva on Orchestra Rach that triumphed at the finish line. Orchestra Rach (Vaillant Rach x Obsession Rach por Voltaire Rach)
It was the second time that Zinia VE did not prevail, as the mare had also finished second to Heron HVP when the Festival made its debut in Brazil with the 2015 HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship (IFAHR) race.
Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairman of the Int’l Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairman of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) said, “Brazil has a long history with Purebred Arabian horses and we are heppy to run two races this year. The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is keen to ensure the growth of Purebred Arabian racing in all parts of the globe.”
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, with National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. LLC as associate sponsors, IPIC as Strategic Partner, The National Archives as the official partner and Emirates airline as the official carriers, in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and sponsored by Al Aweer Stables, Ayadii LLC, Global United Veterinary Services LLC, Bloom, Petromal, Rise General Trading Co. LLC, Hayatna, Wathba Stallions, Abu Dhabi Falconers Club, Emirates Falconers Club, Mohamed Bin Zayed Falconry and Desert Physiognomy School, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Omeir Travels, Dr Nader Saab Switzerland, Laboratories Fadia Karam Cosmetics, YAS Channel, Racing Post, Paris Turf, 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 2016, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Anantara Eastern Mangroves Spa and Resort.
~ end supplied report