Paddys Day and Dream Pearl win in Pleasanton race meeting

Californian racing bodies honour HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival

Keiber Coa on Paddys Day

Pleasanton, US - Paddys Day stormed home to victory in the Grade 1 Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup -Emerald Arabian Triple Jewel in Pleasanton in the US on Saturday, July 8, 2017, and closed in on a third successive triumph in the  three-leg Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup Series Triple Jewel.

On a day which witnessed some fascinating duels between Paddys Day and Sand Victor and their respective trainers Scott Powell and Teri Eaton, French lady rider Ingrid Grard on Dream Pearl did her country proud by winning the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship  Stakes race with a prize fund of US $41,000.

The 6-year-old Paddys Day, owned by Quarter Moon Ranch LLC, was spot on under jockey Keiber Coa to not only avenge his defeat by Sand Victor in 2016 but also add the Sheikh Zayed Cup Emerald Jewel to his earlier win in the Sheikh Zayed Cup Amethyst Jewel in Houston in March this year.

Having picked up 16 points ( 8 points for a win in each of the first two legs), Paddys Day just has to show up in the final leg in Monmouth Park, New Jersey on September 4, 2017 to pick up five points for participation and reach 21 points. Sand Victor has 12 points (7 for his second place here and 5 for his 5th place in Houston) and even a win in Monmouth Park will take his tally to 20.  

Though Paddys Day was the hot favourite after having won all his three starts this year including the first leg of this series in Houston in March, Teri Eaton’s Sand Victor was the possible danger having won here last year. The two had also battled in the 2015 edition here with Paddys Day finishing ahead of Sand Victor.

Coa kept Paddys Day behind the early leader True Grit SA and then moved to the front at the half way pole. From then on the Burning Sands son opened up a four-length lead in the six-furlong race to win by over two lengths. The Scott Powell-trained winner finished ahead of the Teri Eaton-trained duo of Sand Victor (Hugo Hererra up) and Quick Sand AA under Pedro Terrero.

In the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race, Teri Eaton saddled the winner while Scot Powell’s runners finished second and third. French lady rider Ingrid Grard, an Insurance Broker by profession, scored a superb win on the Eaton-trained Dream Pearl to qualify for the Ladies World Championship finals to be run in November in Abu Dhabi.

Ingrid Grard on Dream Pearl

Ingrid and Dream Pearl, a 6-year-old mare, finished ahead of the Powell-trained pair of Ivory Shoes ridden by American Erika Taylor and Last Call MHF under Dutch rider Cindy Klinkenberg in the 10-horse field.

The 30-year-old posted her 16th career win in 139 starts. “Last year I qualified for the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship finals after winning in Morocco on Charmsper in a 1900-metre contest. The experience of being in Abu Dhabi with so many greats of the horse racing fraternity was fantastic. I finished 6th on Sheikh Down to the winner (RB Dixie Burning under Catherine Walton). I hope to do better this year,” Grard said.

Californian racing bodies honour HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival

In a rare honour accorded by a US racing body, the Arabian Racing Association of California (ARAC) and the Texas Arabian Breeders Association (TABA) have accorded Honorary Membership to the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.

The ARAC also honoured Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival for her efforts in promoting the Festival events which eventually has led to a boost for Purebred Arabian racing in the US.

“This is a great honour for the HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival and it is the first time that any US racing body has honoured and admitted an initiative or body like the Festival. This will encourage us to further the aims and goals that have been set by HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy PM of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs and HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood,” said Ms Sawaya.

Sam Vasquez, speaking on behalf of the Californian Arabian racing bodies said, “The membership accorded to HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival is fully deserved and this will help the promotion of Arabian racing in the state.”

“There has been a marked increase in Arabian horse racing and huge interest not only in the Festival’s races being run here in the US but also in the Arabian races being held in the UAE,” he said.

Later HE Abdulla Al Subose, UAE Consul General in California, 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) and Sam Vasquez along with other US officials and sponsors representatives gave away the trophies to the winners.

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, 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 Ayadi LLC, Global United Veterinary Services LLC,  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, 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 2017, 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