ABU DHABI: Blitters Plonja, ridden by Raymond Chang, won the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s (2012) Wathba Stud Farm Cup race opener as the series got off in Europe to a great start at the Duindigt race course in The Netherlands on Sunday.

Trainer Diana Dorenburg, who could not win the Festival’s Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Group 2) in Toulouse on Friday more than made up with Blitters Plonja winning the Wathba Stud Farm Cup I race.

Owned by FF Dyk-Krantz, the seven-year-old mare Blitters Plonja got back to a winning start after a gap of two years. The mare finished ahead of Parma T ridden by Martin Wallow with third place going to Shrek under Toon van den Troost.

The race was run on turf over a distance of 1800 metres with eight horses including two from Germany taking part.