27 August, 2019, Duindigt, The Netherlands ~ Italian lady jockey Chaira Careddu riding Afja’an made a spectacular debut in her amateur jockey racing career as she finished in a dead heat with Hungary’s Cintia Mayer on Jaahez in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race on Sunday, 25 August 2019 at the Duindigt racecourse in The Hague, The Netherlands.
When Carredu on Afja’an and Mayer on Jaahez ended the race even the photo could not separate the two. Both jockeys have now qualified for the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship final to be held in Abu Dhabi in November.
Tadhg O’Shea also made it a memorable event as he notched up a double win in the Festival’s other two main races.
In the Festival’s feature race – the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup – O’Shea scored on Lightning Bolt –the 7-year-old son of Munjiz (standing at Wathba Stallions).
It was celebration time again for trainer Karin van den Bos, owner Landgoed Waterland and O’Shea as Lightning Bolt, a smart winner here in 2018, once again proved his class.
Earlier O’Shea opened his account on the big racing day for Purebred Arabiansin Duindigt by winning the Wathba Stallions Cup on Mazyoonah – owned by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and trained by James Owen.
The large number of Dutch fans also got their chance to cheer as the Netherlands entry, Jaicey Bosman, scored a smart win on on Eldorado in the HH Sheikha Lateefa Bint Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan International Pony Championship race and qualified for the Abu Dhabi finals.
The UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Her Excellency Hessa Abdullah Al Otaiba, Ms. Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairperson of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) and Margaret De Ruiter, Head of Dutch Arabian Horse Racing gave away the trophies.
Photos by Bas Huybers