SWITZERLAND: Four-year-old Rami, trained by Jean Francois Bernard and owned by Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, won the 2010-11 season’s inaugural race for the Wathba Stud Farm Cup in Avenches, Switzerland on Saturday.

The Wathba Stud Farm Cup, which is part of the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and is organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority of Culture and Heritage (ADACH) was held for the first time at the Avenches race course in Switzerland and attended by a large number of Swiss racing fans.

Jockey Jean Baptiste Hamel rode Rami to victory beating Germany’s FF Terska and in third place was another Sheikh Mansoor-owned horse, Tarfa.

Banjo du Loup and locally-based Nil Ishan IbnalSakbe finished fourth and fifth.

“This is a good win and we are now hoping that both Rami and Tarfa will do well next season. It is Rami’s third win in a row this season,” said Marcial Boisseuil, Manager of the Wathba Stud Farm.

Rami finished the 1800-metre race in 2 minutes 09.8 seconds and won by 1.75 lengths from FF Terska.