Doncaster welcomes final Group race of the ARO season
Lightning Bolt (chestnut) takes over race from Tayf (grey)
9 September 2016, Doncaster, UK ~ In a dramatic end to The President of the UAE Cup (UK Arabian Derby) Group 1 PA at Doncaster on 8 September, Lightning Bolt got up by a head to beat favorite Tayf in a photo finish for the £80,000 race. Karin Van Den Bos’s homebred made a last-minute surge under strong driving from Adrie De Vries to catch Tayf that had begun to idle once he struck the front. This left Khataab to fill the frame behind Tayf, confirming the form of the French equivalent.
“He’s a nice horse and he kept giving me everything.” commented De Vries after the race. “When Olivier passed me, I thought he had won as he went past so easily, but of course Arabians, they never want to be in front for too long and I saw his horse trying to stop. So I gave my horse a reminder and he kept going; it was a nice surprise to win.”
Van Den Bos was delighted with her colt’s performance saying. “I know I can count on Adrie, he’s a great rider. He saw an opportunity and he took it. So now I know Lightning Bolt can fight back. That will be it for this season as he is only four years old and he needs more time.”
Full Finish:
[gview file=”https://horsereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Results-Doncaster-8-September.pdf” save=”1″]Faisal Al Rahmani, General Secretary for the President of the UAE Cup Program commented. “It is the first year of sponsorship of The President of the UAE Cup for the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. I already know England very well, and that Doncaster is a historic racecourse and the St Leger Festival meeting is very good. We are looking forward to returning to England with the series next year when it will be bigger and better. The series now goes to America, to Churchill Downs and then on to Morocco, where we will race in front of His Majesty the King.”
Al Rahmani continued, “The President of the UAE Cup is actually the oldest series of races for Purebred Arabians in the world. It was established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to promote and celebrate the Arabian horse and its’ significant place in UAE culture and history. With the help of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, we wish to raise the profile of the series to a new level in the future.”
ARO Racing Manager, Amanda Smith commented: “This is final Group race of the ARO season and it will be interesting to see how the first three home progress, as the race often produces future champions.”
Arabian Racing Organization Director Director Genny Haynes, pleased with the days’ events said, “It is a great pleasure to welcome back the President of the UAE Cup to UK Arabian racing. ARO are extremely grateful to the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for their generous support of the UK Arabian Derby and we look forward to continuing the relationship for many years to come. Every time we come to Doncaster we are always so impressed with the racecourse team and the enthusiasm of the Doncaster public.”