20 April 2015, Duindigt, The Netherlands ~ The Netherlands will stage five Wathba Stud Farm Cup races at the Duindigt race course in 2015 under the umbrella of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
The first of these five races was run on Sunday, 19 April at the Renbaan Duindigt over 2000 metres with a good field of nine horses entered.
German jockey Cecilia Muller on Bachair Qardabiyah staved off a great challenge from Darat Al Ayam under Anthony Deau to win the grass contest. Bachair Qardabiyah, a four-year-old Dormane filly owned by Waleed Ben Zaied, posted her first career win in three starts for trainer Damien Watrigant. The filly had last November run a 9th and 7th in two races but on Sunday looked spot-on as she denied Darat Al Ayam by Dahess owned by the UAE’s Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah. Al Naboodah, a leading private owner and breeder of Purebred Arabian horses in the UAE, has put Diana Dorenburg in charge of training his horse ridden by Belgian jockey Tom van den Troost. Belgian trained Victor and Dicky finished third and fourth in the race of nine horses.
“Both The Netherlands and the Wathba Stud Farm Cup series play a very important role in achieving the aims of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival,” said Ms. Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the 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 Committee in the Int’l Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR).
“The second Wathba Stud Farm Cup race of 2015 will be held on May 17,” she said.
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, 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 HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2015, Dr. Nader Saab Switzerland, Al Wathba Center, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Yas Channel, Omeir Travels and Racing Post.
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