More success for Al Naboodah, Oertel as AF Waqas wins Wathba Stallions Cup in Abu Dhabi

One of the UAE’s top Purebred Arabian horse  owners, Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah, registered a double on Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club and one of his wins came in the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s Wathba Stallions Cup For Private Owners Only race.

The final two races on the card were 1600m handicaps, both won by horses trained for reigning Champion Owner Khalid Khalifa Al Nabooda, by Ernst Oertel. First to step to the plate was AF Waqas, ridden by Antonio Fresu before stablemate,AF Asheham followed up in the hands of Silvestre De Sousa.

AF Waqas, the 5-year-old son of AF Al Buraq, won the Dh 80,000 Wathba Stallions Cup For Private Owners Only race over a mile’s distance in a time of 1:44:43. Recording his second win of his fledgling career, AF Waqas finished about a length in front of Dassan DA under Patrick Cosgrave while in third place was AF Ashras under Silvestre De Sousa.

Earlier, Richard Mullen advertised just why he is the reigning UAE Champion Jockey when producing Rmmas fast and late to land the 1400m Group 2 Liwa Oasis, one of the Purebred Arabian highlights on the card.

Racing in midfield throughout the first half of the race, Rmmas made smooth progress at the top of the straight but still had plenty of his 14 rivals in front of him. However, once pulled wider, Rmmas who is trained by Jean de Roualle for Yas Horse Racing Management, owned by HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, responded well to Mullen’s urgings producing a telling late dash to land the spoils.
Mullen said: “Fair play to the horse because drawn nine in a big competitive field like that is never ideal. He won nicely here over 1200m last time but that was from a nice low draw whereas today we were out wider. 

The jockey continued: “That is now three wins for the horse from just four UAE starts and, trip wise, he seems very versatile. I imagine that will be his last race of the campaign and, fingers crossed, he will be an exciting sort for next season.”

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
Photos: Morhaf Al Assaf