19 August 2018 Sponsored by Wathba Stallions and the Royal Cavalry of Oman
20 August 2018, UK ~ Chelmsford City welcomed Arabian Racing Organisation sponsors, Wathba Stallions to Chelmsford City Racecourse on Sunday, 19 August 2018, for the most valuable on the card of seven, held under the banner of HH Sheikh Mansoor Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
The Race
Pacific Athbah and Fatinah set the early pace with the two Adam Newey trained horses – Vindetta and Synergy – closely stalking them. Following were Popsstar for trainer Sam Holdsworth and Serena Botherton aboard and Welsh raider Kayclaire for Delyth Thomas in the hands of Simon Walker.
At half way Fatinah under David Turner made his bid the field spread out but as they hit the home straight Vindetta gave chase under jockey James Harding. The horses were battling hard by the final furlong but as the tempo lifted Vindetta responded well hitting the front with a well-timed closing run followed by a very fast finishing Kayclare putting up a strong challenge but unable to overturn the determination of both Vindetta and her jockey James Harding. It was a thrilling finish, and a well-deserved win for delighted Adam Newey and owners The Almost All Partnership. Kayclaire lost nothing in defeat and whilst disappointed her trainer Delyth Thomas was delighted with her performance and the same was said for Yeucel Mehmets Fatinah, coming third.
The Wathba Stallions series that offers welcome support to the sports grass roots of UK Arabian racing. The race attracted a a field of nine, many having traveled from afar.
Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival was in attendance at Chelmsford City Racecourse to present the prizes to delighted winning connections stated how important it was to support the trainers at this level, the presentation was an emotional one for jockey Harding who has been an important part of the Adam Newey team, it was good to see how much the win meant.
Willie McFarland ARO Operations said “ARO is extremely grateful for the continued patronage of Lara Sawaya, Wathba Stallions and the HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival a sponsor that offers huge support to UK Arabian racing. We enjoyed a great day of Arabian racing at Chelmsford City, a track that has offered immeasurable backing to ARO throughout the season. We are also incredibly excited to be ending the ARO turf season with the highly valued and prestigious HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Group 1 PA) a race with a Prize Fund of £80,000 which will be held at Royal Windsor Racecourse on Monday, 15 October. This is an amazing way to finish a great years UK racing on the turf and we are very grateful to HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival for their generosity’’.