Saher, owned by HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs will be starting off as the favourite in Sunday October 9th’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup race to be held in Avenches, Switzerland. Trained by Robert Litt, Saher will be partnered with jockey Mathias Sautieau in Sunday’s race ,which is part of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival.

Saher had won the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup in Frankfurt last year and will be the one to beat on Sunday as four other horses join the battle in this 1600-metre race.

HH Sheikh Mansoor’s Rasikh, trained by Jean Pierre Totain will also be in the fray and makes an appearance after a  4th  place finish to Periander in a Group 2 race in Istanbul.

Sayf, with two wins in 8 starts this year along with two Swiss raiders – Nil Ishan Ibn Al Sakbe and  Nil Karazi complete the small field of five runners.

The Avenches race brings the curtain down on the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup race series held internationally for the year 2011. This race was won by HH Sheikh Mansoor’s Rami last year.

Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Director of Communications, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) said, “In 2010 the international calendar for the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup started in Avenches and since then the series has benefitted many small owners and breeders in all the venues we staged the races.”

“This race in Avenches last year saw an encouraging crowd of racing fans watch Purebred Arabian horses in action and we are looking for a better crowd this year. There are a lot of owners and breeders of Arabian horses in this region and we hope this race will boost their interests in Arabian racing,” said Ms Lara Sawaya, Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival.

The HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival is organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and co-ordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Arabian Horse Society with support from Emirates airlines, Invest AD, Areej Al Ameerat, La Sirene, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2011, Wathba Stud Farm and Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.