Recently crowned European Triple Crown winner Ziyadd, owned by HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs will be back in action in Sunday’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Group 3) race at the Sluzewiec race course in Warsaw, Poland, August 21.

Ziyadd under Pierantonio Convertino is one of the nine runners in the line-up at the Polish racecourse where the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival stages all three of its top race series.

Kicking off the action in the 6th race of Sunday’s meeting is the 1600-metre race that gives lady jockeys the final chance to qualify for the Abu Dhabi finale of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) 2016 series.

Ten lady riders are in the line-up and will join the previous 13 winners and two wild card entrants for the final which will be run on November 13 at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race course in the UAE capital.

Similarly another ten Apprentice jockeys from around the world will be vying to secure a berth in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship (IFAHR) series, with three more races after this Polish leg.

However all eyes will be on the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Group 3) and Ziyadd, trained by Antoine Watrigant for owner HH Sheikh Mansoor, will be starting as favourite with the main challenge expected from Alladyn and Lares de Pine.

Other horses in this feature race are Ussam de Carrere, Magoum, Ramiz Al Aziz, Szakur, Tekfir and W Catchcash.

“While the Sheikh Zayed Cup and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship (IFAHR) series continue after Poland, it will be the final chance for the lady jockeys to clinch a spot in the final,” said Ms Lara Sawaya, 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).

“It has been an extremely busy period, we have the HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival-supported endurance rides on in Belgium, Saturday’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup in the United Kingdom and tomorrow morning (Sunday) we will be flying to Warsaw for the afternoon’s three races to be held under the umbrella of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.

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 Al Aweer Stables, 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