AF Maher helps Oertel sign off with a win

Trainer Ernst Oertel got off to a great start as he saddled a 1-2-3 in the opening race of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s Wathba Stallions Cup For Private Owners Only series opener at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club racecourse on November 17, 2018.

On Sunday, March 18, he ended on a winning note in the Wathba Stallions Cup Championship For Private Owners Only Championship race, missing a clean sweep narrowly in the final of the series in Abu Dhabi.

Leading Purebred Arabian race horse breeder and owner Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah and his main trainer, Oertel, combined with four of the 13 runners in the 1600m conditions race and landed the spoils with AF Maher, the mount of Antonio Fresu winning for a seventh time, fifth this season. Also victorious in the equivalent race last year, when it was over 1400m, AF Maher has improved throughout the season.

The Elise Jeanne-trained MH Tawaq under Harry Bentley finished second to spoil Oertel’s party for whom AF Al Almaa under Adrien Vries and AF Asheham under Tadhg O’Shea took third and fourth spots.

Fresu said: “He is a good horse in his grade and has had an excellent season as have the owner and trainer as well. I have ridden plenty of winners for them this year and have to thank them for their support throughout the campaign.”

“This was the final race of the Wathba Stallions Cup For Private Owners Only series in Abu Dhabi and it carried a prize fund of Dirhams 100,000 as it was the championship race. We are happy with the great response from the small and private owners and this series has grown in quantity and quality,” remarked Ms. Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, General Manager of Wathba Stallions, 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).

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, Al Massood Automobiles and Nissan Middleast as official car partners, in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority for Sports 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 2018, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Anantara Eastern Mangroves Spa and Resort.

Source: HH SH Mansoor Festival / Satya Narayan (Inputs from ERA)