Pietrasiewicz in Fray for Ladies Racing Cup
27 June 2015, Duindigt ~ Three races under the umbrella of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival being run at the Duindigt racecourse near The Hague in The Netherlands on Sunday, 28 June assume great importance.
While the Group 3 Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup is also the second leg of the European Triple Crown, the lady jockeys intensify their chase for a berth in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship finale in Abu Dhabi on 8 November 2015.
Reigning Sheikh Zayed Cup European Triple Crown champion Ameretto will get a chance to score full points with a win as Al Mouwaffak, winner of the first leg on April 17 in Toulouse Cup, is not part of the starting line-up here. But Ameretto under Manuel Manueddu faces stiff competition from Athlete Del Sol ridden by Dutch star and reigning HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Champion Jadey Pietrasiewicz.
Other star contenders include Lahoob under Tadhg O’Shea, the Beverly Deutron-trained winner of the Sheikh Zayed Cup in Lingfield Park, UK, earlier in the year, Phraseur Kossack, and Karar.
Apart from a slice of the €35,000 on offer for Sunday’s 1900-metre Group 3 Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, the 12-strong field will also be chasing the €50,000 bonus prize for the ongoingEuropean Triple Crown. The third leg of the Triple Crown will be held in Sluzewiec racecourse in Poland on 23 August.
The €20,000 HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) race is expected to be a strong contest with reigning World Ladies Champion Pietrasiewicz on Nobas D.A, Indian ace Rupa Singh on Raya and Bachair Qarbadiya under Spanish star Lucia Bautista. Rupa and Baustista had finished 5th and 11th respectively behind Pietrasiewicz in last year’s HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship final on 9 November. Local star Pietrasiewicz also gets the credit for being the only jockey to feature in three HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival races in a single race-meeting when she gets aboard Lightning Bolt in the Wathba Stud Farm Cup race.
The two premier races of the Festival along with the Wathba Stud Farm Cup on Sunday are being held under the directions of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. HE Abdullah Hamdan Al Naqbi, UAE Ambassador to The Netherlands had earlier in the week conducted the draw for the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race.
“Sunday’s race-card here in Duindigt has attracted some of the best Purebred Arabians currently racing in Europe and is part of the meeting which also stages the popular International Trot race – the Great Prize of the Low Lands,” said Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairman of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairman of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR).
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, National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. LLC, 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, Racing Post and Laboratoires Fadia Karam Cosmetics.
Photo Caption: Dutch star Jadey Pietrasiewicz winning the Hh Sheikh Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship final in Abu Dhabi on 9 November 2014 on Molahen El Ahlan