Abu Dhabi Day race meeting at Capennelle racecourse
in Rome on Sunday

Eight in fray for Sheikh Zayed Cup

Rome, Italy - After the tremendous success of 2016 when the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival staged the World Arabian Horse Racing Conference and also made a debut with its premier flat racing events, the spotlight will once again be on the Capannelle race course in Rome on Sunday, June 4, 2017.

The Festival’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship race are part of the ‘Abu Dhabi Day’ race meeting at the Capanelle racecourse.

The runners in the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup are Lares De Pine under Marcelli Germano, Metrag under Faleh Bughenaim, Nil Ashal under Gavino Sanna, Nil Aziz under Carlo Fiocchi, Ramiz Al Aziz under Mauro Manueddu, Tintu Di Gallura under Samuele Diana, Tornado Byzucchele under Antonio Fadda and Yenka under Rosario Mangione.  

The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup is a Listed race with prize money of Euros 35,000 and will be run over a distance of 2400 metres.

Ten lady jockeys start in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship series and this is the sixth race in the 2017 championship. The winner of each of the races, qualify for the final in Abu Dhabi in November.

The lady jockeys in the fray are: Austria’s Manuela Slamanig, Croatia’s Sara Giavarini, Mathilde Bourillon of France, Germany’s Silvia Pattinson, Hungary’s Rebeka Gonczi, Ireland’s Jeannie Cook, Italy’s Debora Fioretti, Cindy Kilkenburg of The Netherlands, Norway’s Thea Hofossaeter and Emma Sayer from Great Britain.

Similarly ten Apprentice jockeys will be vying for a berth in the November final of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship. The Apprentice jockeys running in Sunday’s race are: Bahrain’s Ali Sameer, Belgium’s Zoe Vande Velde, Marios Demetriou of Cyprus, Germany’s Claudia Pawlak, Hungary’s Alexandria Bihari, Italian Samuele Paladini, Kersley Ramsamy of Mauritius, Poland’s Karolina Dynarowska, Sweden’s Andreas Tapia Dalbark and Jane Elliott from the United Kingdom.

“Thanks to His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, President of the General Women's Union and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, we made a great start here in Rome last year. Now we are back and hosting three of the Festival’s premier races and we are looking forward to another great day of racing with Purebred Arabian horses,” said Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairperson of Int'l Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) and Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR).

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