Khataab wins Sheikh Zayed Cup and Bertiaux strikes on Sha’hir in HH Sheikha Fatima race in Toulouse

Jerome Crabbe on Khataab

The Thomas Fourcy-trained Khataab won the Group 2 Prix Carthage-Hannibal- Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race while Belgium’s Alice Bertiaux on Sha’hir scored in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race in Toulouse on Friday, April 21, 2017.

The two races were held as part of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.

Nine started in the Euros 35,000 in the Sheikh Zayed Cup run over 2000 metres and this race kicked-off the Festival’s premier series in Europe.

Qatar’s Al Shaqab Racing was strongly represented by Khataab, Metrag and Meblsh and that paid off as trainer Thomas Fourcy saddled both the winner Khataab as well as the third-placed horse Meblsh.

Jerome Crabbe on the 5-year-old Amer son Khataab did very well to stave off the challenge of Peter Sogorb’s Mehdaaf Athbah under Jean-Bernard Eyquem while Meblsh under Julien Auge finished third to make it a 1-3 for Fourcy and it was also a 1-2-3 for the sire Amer.

Khataab, a winner of a Group 2 race here last October and also third to Lightning Bolt in the UAE President’s Cup UK Derby (Group 1), completed the 2000-metre race in 2:13.72 and finished about two lengths ahead of Mehdaaf Athbah in this Group 2 contest.

The large crowd cheered on as the 11 lady jockeys from around the globe made a bid to win and book their berth in the November final of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship.

Sha’hir, the 6-year-old Amer son, had already won the Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup race earlier this year, and struck once again but this time under Alice Bertiaux.

Bertiaux, a physical education teacher from Belgium and riding her 151st race, did not let down handler Francois Rohaut as she steered Sha’hir to a narrow win over Al Shaqab’s Khozan ridden by Sweden’s Charlotta Ericsson.

Alice Bertiaux on Sha’hir

Dutch lady rider Leonie Vethaak on Chalwa du Breuil and French jockey Marie Lemartinel on Burj Al Arab finished third and fourth respectively in the 11-horse race over 1600-metres. The winning time registered by Sha’hir was 1:47.27 in the Euros 30,000 race.

The 34-year-old Belgian said she was highly pleased and elated with her victory. “This is my 16th win and I am looking forward to the final race.”

“Today’s race was very impressive and certainly the competition was fierce. The trainer's instructions helped me to control the horse and unleash it in time, and I am very happy with this win which will be a good addition to my career record as a race jockey,” she said.

Michel Garbel, Director of Finance and Administration at the Toulouse Track, and Nicole Kraft, Director of the French Arabian Racehorse Association, 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 other French officials attended the prize-giving ceremony.

ALL SET FOR WAHRC IN MARRAKECH
Ms. Sawaya said that the Festival had completed all arrangement for the World Arabian Horse Racing Conference which is set to be staged in Marrakech, Morocco from May 2, 2017.

“Under the directives of 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, the Marrakech WAHRC will be a historic one,” she said.

“Apart from experts and experienced persons in the WAHRC, history will also be written with the inauguration of the Marrakech racecourse and for the first time there will be a race for the Festival on May 7, 2017,” Ms. Sawaya added.

Commenting on the Friday’s races, Ms. Sawaya said, “Toulouse has always been a great venue for Purebred Arabian racing and once again we witnessed some top quality contests today.”

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