Arabian races on Sunday, 19 August

17 August 2018, Chelmsford City, UK ~ The card of seven races has held up well following excellent entries for this popular track as declarations have landed. ARO will be welcoming Sponsors, Wathba Stallions and the Royal Cavalry of Oman for a day of competitive Arabian racing.

The Wathba Stallions Handicap Stakes, the 5th race on the card, for 4 years and up, will see 9 horses go to post. It looks to be a very compelling race and one where all horses look to go well on the surface. Inform trainer Adam Newey could be holding the key and comes well equipped, his horses have been in good form this season and recent Chepstow winner Vindetta looks to have a big chance under her favored jockey James Harding. Stablemate Syrah Gris, and Popsstar, Noble Athlete, Kork MHF and Fatinah all finished behind Vindetta that day although the danger may come from another from the Newey stable, Synergy, also a winner last time out at Chepstow in May.

The Royal Cavalry, The Sultanate of Oman sponsors two races on the card. The 1st race for three-year old horses will be a meeting of minds for last year’s champion trainer and this seasons leading trainer, James Owen and Phil Collington. Breeding makes much of the appeal and several are well related but with five runners making their racecourse debut, as well as several home-grown jockeys speaks volumes in their knowledge of the horses going to post.

The Royal Cavalry of Oman race, the fourth a 0-80 will like the Wathba Stallion race, see some this seasons winners in the fray again. HH Sheikh Hamdan is well represented with 5 of the 9 runners for both the Owen and Collington teams, but the Peter Hammersley-trained Bin al Reeh could be the one to shake things up.
Delyth Thomas will make the long journey from Wales with high hopes for all her runners. Callymay has been consistent and looks like she could go well in the 2nd race.

The 3rd race, a maiden is a hard one to judge, with three horses making their racecourse debut from trainer Peter Hammersley including UK Arabian Derby entry Abiyah Athbah. Thamaraat teams up with stable jockey Will Pettis for Phil Collinton.

The quality on the day comes in the form of the 6th race where six go to post. Halib Des Forges has already had a tremendous season winning twice and finishing 2nd on his other two runs. He ran a blinder at Newbury recently but comes up against stiff opposition in the shape of Eqleem, already a winner, and the classy Ishfaq that has been running in pattern company, the latest in a Group 1PA. Other inform horses include Anfaa,s a winner at Chepstow earlier this year and since placed in all 3 starts.

The day’s finale sees a mixture of youth and experience. My Boy Sam, one of two 3 year olds in the race ran green on his debut and is sure to have improved for the experience. West Country raider Abaci ran well last time out at Chelmsford finishing a respectable 3rd with the possibility of more to come. Southpaw had previously finished in front of her on their seasonal debut at Taunton in May, and Zayin Activist is improving.

Declarations:

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Willie McFarland ARO Operations said “ARO is extremely grateful for the continued support of Lara Sawaya, Wathba Stallions and the HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival and also the Royal Cavalry of Oman, both sponsors have been very generous and offer huge support to UK Arabian racing. We looking forward to seeing a great day of Arabian racing at Chelmsford City, a track that has offered immeasurable support to ARO throughout the season, these meetings have been very well received and we hope we will be putting on a great show with plenty of runners and exciting finishes.”

The red, green and gold silks of the Royal Cavalry of Oman are a familiar sight in Arabian Races around the world, in the UK their presence and generosity as a sponsor and owner has grown considerably over past years. Based on the outskirts of Oman’s capital, Muscat, The Royal Cavalry

About Chelmsford City Racecourse: Chelmsford City is not only the newest racecourse in Britain, but is also one of only 4 fully floodlit all-weather tracks in the UK. The course opened for racing on 11th January 2015 with the first public race day on 1st February in the same year, since then it has gone from strength to strength, offering a huge variety of race day and non-race day events including, live music concerts, family fun days, wedding exhibitions and Arabian race fixtures.

~Photo: Chelmsford City Racecourse winners from the ARO meeting on 24 June 2018.