Preview for Sheikh Zayed and HH Sheikha Fatima races in Toulouse

The 2015 Toulouse leg of the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Cup race in action

Quality fields for Sheikh Zayed Cup (Triple Crown), HH Sheikha Fatima World Championship

HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival races look set to serve up mouth-watering contests

The two featured races of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival to be run on Friday, April 22,2016, at the Toulouse Hippodrome in France are set to be mouth-watering clashes between top campaigners.

The Festival’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Prix De Carthage – Hannibal) Group 2 over 2000 metres and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR over 1600 metres have attracted strong fields.

This Toulouse round of the Sheikh Zayed Cup is also the first leg of the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup European Triple Crown series and in contention are a bunch of class performers.

Muraaqib, owned by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Deputy Ruler and Minister of Finance, will be under jockey Francois-Xavier Bertras. The 4-year-old chestnut son of Munjiz has won two Group One races in 2015 and will be starting as the favourite.

However the winner of this race in 2014, Sir Baniyas under Solanje Gourd, will be racing in the colours of UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The 6-year-old son of Amer finished 5th to Al Mouwaffaq in this race last year and since has been a Group 1 winner at Goodwood in UK apart from some consistent runs.

The UAE adds a third challenge with Ziyadd, a 4-year-old Bibi De Carrere horse owned by His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs. Fourth to Muraaqib in the Group 1 at Saint Claude and then a second place run behind Aba'ath in a Group 2 race here in Toulouse, gives the Sheikh Mansoor runner a good chance under Jean-Baptiste Hamel, the winning jockey here last year on Al Mouwaffaq.

In the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race, this year’s sixth in the series, Oman’s Fatima Al Manji will be hoping to win it again for her country after Azher Al Wardi’s triumph last year. Al Wardi scored on Shen and the winner is this time paired with Solange Gourdain.

Oman's Azher Al Wardi celebrates after winning the  HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race in Toulouse in 2015 on Shen. 

Al Manji, the winner of a HH Sheikha Fatima World Championship race in Texas in 2012, will be riding Yara Alkhair and is coming back after a long absence.

Britain’s Rebecca Smith, who scored a fairy-tale win in the Ladies Championship series in Houston last year, will be looking to cash in on a late entry into the line-up. She rides Babel Palmas in the 12-horse race.

Valentin, winner of the Sheikh Zayed Cup in Berlin in 2015, will be under Italian Elisabetta Marcialis who has over 100 winners from 800 starts under her belt while Manuela Slamanig, winner of the HH Sheikha Fatima Cup in Casablanca in 2014, will be riding Shakraa.

The other horse and lady riders are Taajer under Tunisia’s Gabriella Fricano, Argentyne under Germany’s Eva Herresthal, Vedette De Lagrimodi under Julie Jenderson, Laft Nethar under Sweden’s Yasmine Nilsson, Beur Star under French lady Ingrid Grard, Djeko Saric under Ireland’s Jeannie Cook and Cassini Of Cardonne under Spain’s Diana Lopez.

Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of 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: “Toulouse is an important stop for the Festival and it is also the first leg of the prestigious three-race European Triple Crown in the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup. Ameretto (not running here in Toulouse) has won the Triple Crown four times and we have to wait and see which horse wins the 2016 series.”

“Both the races have some of the top Purebred Arabian horses in the fray and Friday looks like ending up with some exciting finishes,” she said.

“HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race wears the look of a top competition and racing fans in Toulouse, which is an important centre for Arabian horses, are in for a big treat,” Ms Sawaya added.

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, with National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. LLC as associate sponsors, IPIC as Strategic Partner, The  National Archives as the official partner and Emirates airline as the official carriers, in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and sponsored by Ayadii LLC, Global United Veterinary Services LLC, Bloom, Petromal, Rise General Trading Co. LLC, Hayatna, Wathba Stallions, Abu Dhabi Falconers Club, Emirates Falconers Club,  Mohamed Bin Zayed Falconry and Desert Physiognomy School, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Omeir Travels, Dr Nader Saab Switzerland, Laboratories Fadia Karam Cosmetics, YAS Channel, Racing Post, Paris Turf,  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 2016, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Anantara Eastern Mangroves Spa and Resort.

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