ABU DHABI: Oman’s Fatma Al Manji on Sanddpiper won the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing (IFAHR) Cup after TM Junior Johnson won the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup on Saturday night at the Sam Houston Park in the US.
The Bill Waldron-trained five-year-old mare Sanddpiper and Fatma Al Manji created history by becoming the first winners of the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies IFAHR Cup, the first-ever and the richest race for lady jockeys riding Purebred Arabian horses.
UAE’s Shathra Al Hajjaj rode Rich Kinkga to third place behind the pre-race favourite TM Superbird which was ridden by Sandee Beattie.
“This is one of my biggest and greatest victories. I am happy for my family and my country and I thank Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak and Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs for creating this opportunity for us,” said Manji.
Emirati lady jockey Hajjaj was also very pleased with her third place on Rich Kinkga after Dixies Valentine, the horse she was to ride was withdrawn before the race.
“To come here and ride in the US and finish third is indeed a great result for me and I hope to improve and bring more laurels to the UAE,” she said.
A large crowd of fans earlier witnessed another great race when in the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Grade 3) race worth $ 30,000, TM Junior Johnson under Jose Figueroa finished ahead of Status Symbol under Dakota Wood with Its Far From Over, owned by Emirati Mohammed Faisal Al Hammadi, finishing third under jockey Travis Wales.
Omar Al Shamshi, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in the US, Lara Sawaya, director of the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival, Abdul Mohsin Al Dossary, assistant Under Secretary of Sports at the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, Talal Al Hashmi of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club (ADEC), Ali Moosa Al Khamiri of Dubai Equestrian Club and Patrick Buckley of ADEC and Stephen Bowey of Invest AD along with US officials attended the prize distribution and gave away the trophies.
Shamshi hailed the success of the Omani and UAE jockeys and said: “The Festival’s success is already being reflected in the success of the Arab lady jockeys here in this first-ever race for lady jockeys.”
“We are glad that such large numbers turned out and cheered for the two Arabian races that we staged here tonight,” said Sawaya.
