O’Shea steers Girl Powerr to Wathba Cup win in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi - The UAE’s champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea completed a treble at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club on Sunday night, January 18, including a win in the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup For Private Owners Only.

 O’Shea steered Girl Powerr to the lead in the dying strides of the 1000m Purebred Arabians handicap and win the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup For Private Owners Only, the fifth race on the card in the UAE capital.

Owned and trained by Saeed Hadher Al Mazrouei, the six-year-old mare of Calin Du Loop cruised to her third win of the season and first victory in the Festival.

“It was only close home I thought we would get there,” admitted O’Shea after the brilliant mare survived an attack by AF Shbas under Royston Ffrench and the mount of Silvestre De Sousa, Dere’A Al Jazeera in the final 50 yards. “It has been a great evening,” said O’Shea later.

Earlier O’Shea and Al Asayl trainer Salem Al Ketbi enjoyed an Abu Dhabi double highlighted by the victory of Molahen El Ahlan in the featured 1600m handicap.

Al Ketbi and O’Shea had wasted little time getting off the mark for the evening with Nashmee who showed distinct signs of inexperience when landing the opening 2200m conditions race.

Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club and 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), presented the prizes and trophies to the connections of the winning horse.

“The Wathba Stud Farm Cup For Private Owners race series in Abu Dhabi is getting very popular and provides some exciting contests. The HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s focus on Purebred Arabian races at the grass-roots level is realized with this series,” said Ms Sawaya.

The HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is organised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR and Emirates Arabian Horse Society, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , the 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, Abu Dhabi Sports Channel and Racing Post.

Source: HH SH Mansoor Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival / Satya Narayan
Photo: Morhaf Al Assaf