Sacramento to stage third leg on Saturday

HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship  

The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival stops in Sacramento on Saturday, July 18 for the third leg of the 2015 HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship.

Recent winner Sand Victor under Irish Apprentice Rob Fitzpatrick and One Hot Chick to be partnered by Omani Saeed Al Yahyahee will be starting off as favourites in the six furlong race of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship, the final of which will be held in Abu Dhabi on November 8, 2015.

Less than a fortnight ago, Sand On Fire under American jockey Sandee Martin won the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race in Pleasanton in the US with One Hot Chick under Michala Kucharikova and My Vaz Is Hot under Celina Weber finishing in that order.

A total of ten horses will be starting in this race which carries a purse of US $ 25,000 and apart from Sand Victor and One Hot Chick there are a few other strong contenders that include Ayers, Twice Rich and RB Cantata.

Ayers will be under American Apprentice Jonathan Roman while Twice Rich will be partnered by Korean Jaechul Song and Frenchman Pierre Bazire takes the ride on RB Cantata.

Other entries include Australian Apprentice Jackie Beriman on So Big Is Better, Niven Marday of Mauritius will ride My Vaz Is Hot, Canadian Katy Morrison will be on Aimee Oakley PW, UK’s Rowan Scott on Fastandfurious and Lauralea Glazer will ride Es Mi Cielo.

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) said the race is being held even as everyone back in the UAE and the world will be celebrating Eid. “We wish everyone a happy and joyous Eid Mubarak especially to the Purebred Arabian horse racing fraternity around the globe,” Ms Sawaya said.

Commenting on the race, she said, “In the first two races of the 2015 series, Australian Ben Thompson won in Lexington in US while Belgium’s Zoe Vande Velde won in Warsaw in Poland. After this third leg the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship will stop at seven more venues and winners of all the ten races will then battle it out for the World Championship title on November 8,” she said.

“This series is very important to help improve the skill levels of jockeys who play a pivotal part in the horse racing world. After Sacramento the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship races will be held in Belgium, United Kingdom, Poland, Tatarstan, The Netherlands, France and Brazil”.

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