Puerto Rican Roman steers Ayers to victory

No 10 Jomar Torres Roman on Ayers winning from No 8 Es Mi Cielo

HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship race in Sacramento, US

Jomar Torres Roman from Puerto Rico became the third Apprentice to qualify for the final of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s 2015 HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship final to be held on November 8 in Abu Dhabi.

Roman revealed excellent skills when he steered 9-year-old Ayers to a narrow win by a neck from the Sam Vazquez-owned ES Mi Cielo to win Saturday’s HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship race in Sacramento, US.

Ayers had finished second in this race last year when outclassed by Sammy V and had been consistently performing in the Festival’s races but on Saturday the Burning Sands’ chestnut finally won to register his 19th career win in 57 starts.

Roman and Ayers were slow to start off and it was My Vaz Is Hot and Twice Rich that set the early place. Coming into the home stretch, Ayers was fourth behind Twice Rich, ES Mi Cielo and My Vaz Is Hot.  
Soon Ayers joined the battle and along with Twice Rich under Korean Jaechul Song and ES Mi Cielo under American Lauralea Glaser the three battled it all the way to the finish. Roman and Ayers headed Es Mi Cielo by a neck with Twice Rich finishing third. The winning time for the six-furlong distance was 1:17.96.

The Puerto Rican now joins Australian Ben Thompson and Belgium’s Zoe Vande Velde with seven more races in the series before the final. “I am very happy that I won today and thanks all those who made this new championship series for Apprentice jockeys possible. I am looking forward to the final in Abu Dhabi now,” Roman said.

HE Abdulla Al Suboosi, UAE Consul General in Los Angeles, Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi – Director General of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairperson of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) and representatives of the US Arabian racing bodies attended the prize distribution ceremony.

“The presence of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival races in the US and in California in particular is very strong. We thank His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and Head of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood for their support to Arabian racing,” HE Abdulla Al Suboosi said.

“The first three races in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship series have been won by Apprentice jockeys from three different continents! We still have seven more races in this 2015 series and they will be held in Belgium, United Kingdom, Poland, Tatarstan, The Netherlands, France and Brazil,” said Ms Sawaya.

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 Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2015, Bloom, Rise General Trading Co. LLC, Petromal, Hayatna, 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 Laboratories Fadia Karam Cosmetics.

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