Carom, France 3 Sept. 2010 (WAM) – The H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, at the Craon Racecourse in France on Sept 4th Saturday, has attracted a qualify field.
The Group 2 race (Prix Cheri Bibi) is reserved for Purebred Arabians and the distance to cover is 2,200 meters. Musharab, owned by His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential affairs, is one of the favorites in the eight-horse field. Despite being a three–year-old, he has already won the Prix Denquste in Toulouse, France (1400 meters) on 23.04.10 and the Saint Laurent race (1400) in France on 22.08.10. In Coupe De France. Musharab, in race Group 1 in Chiantlly, finished third behind winner Dubai Heros and Rasikh.
It is expected, Musharab will reap success in longer distance also on Saturday. Omni DA , is another strong contender having secured a second place in Newbury before finishing a creditable first in Hamburg. Likewise, Kiss De Ghazal who won in La Teste (1900) and Ibn Battuta who finished third (1900) in also La Teste are the other strong contenders in the fray.
The total prize money on offer is euros 20,000. The race is the sixth in this year’s HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival. The earlier five races have been run in Toulouse in France, Duindigt in The Netherlands and Delaware in the US Frankfurt in Germany and Warsaw in Poland.
The HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race series is being organized by Abu Dhabi Authority of Culture and Heritage (ADACH) in co-ordination with Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) and Wathba Stud Farm with sponsorship from Invest AD, Bonyan International Investment Group (Holding) LLC and Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2010.
Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Director of Communications, ADACH, in a statement said, “The race series has returned to France having kick started the event in Toulouse on April 23”. “The race is expected to be a competitive one as it has attracted a quality field. This festival underlines the keenness of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage in supporting traditional sports including horse racing,” he added.
“This has been a great initiative by His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to promote Arabian horses globally and I thank him for his unlimited support for this equestrian sport, especially Arabian horse racing ,” said Mussalem Al Amiri, racing manager for H H Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Lara Sawaya, Director of HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival, said, “It is encouraging to see high quality Arabian race horses competing here and the interest they are generating in the international horse racing community.”
