All roads in Warsaw will lead to the Sluzewiec race course today (Sunday) when the HH SheikhMansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival unveils a twin treat for Purebred Arabian horse lovers in Poland.
Eleven horses led by Poulain Kossack will line up for the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan –Nagroda Europy- (Group 3) race over 2600 metres while in the first-ever race for lady jockeys the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race has attracted 12 runners.
Owned and trained by Huub Otermans, Poulain Kossack looks the one to beat in the SheikhZayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan –Nagroda Europy-(Group 3) race with Russian runner Dostatok hoping to gain some revenge.
Poulain Kossackhas enjoyed some great success in the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al NahyanGlobal Arabian Flat Racing Festival winning the Sheikh Zayed Cup race in Duindigtlast year but only finished 6th in the same race this year. But prior to that the 2009 champion of Holland won a Wathba Cup race and the SheikhZayed Cup race in Berlin this year and will be starting off as the favourite.
Dostatok has won six times here in Poland since arriving from Russia but last year was a poor 8th to Sartejano in the same Sheikh Zayed Cup race here last year.
Meanwhile in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race, the UAE’s Shathra Al Hajjaj and Omani duo of Fatma Al Manji and Azher Al Wardi will take on nine other lady jockeys in the first-ever race for lady jockeys to be held here in Poland.
With Euros 20,000 on offer the HH Sheikha FatimaBint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race is the richest for lady jockeys and the participants are all excited. “Most of u s will be racing on these Purebred Arabian horses for the first time and this makes it more open and even,” said Al Hajaj, whose best is a second place finish in the series.
Abdullah Al Qubaisi from the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority said, “The Festival has grown in stature with Poland now an important venue for its activities. With the introduction of the HH SheikhaFatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race, Sunday’s Arabian Horse Day meeting is all set to becom e a major event in the racing calendar in Poland,”Al Qubaisi said.
Ms Lara Sawaya, Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival and head of IFAHR ladies racing said, “We are all aware that there are a lot of Purebred Arabian horses in Poland. The Festival’s races give more opportunities for these horses to take part and boost their owners and trainers. This year we already staged a Wathba Stud Far m Cup race here in Poland and with tomorrow’s two big races, the future looks bright for Purebred Arabian racing in this region.”
FeliksKlimczak, President of the Polish Jockey Club said, “We have a lot of women involved in horseback riding but the number of lady jockeys are few. With the HHSheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR race making its debut we are confident that those numbers will increase in the near future.”
The HH SheikhMansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival is organized to promote purebred Arabians in different parts of the world with the sponsors being the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and co-ordinated by Abu DhabiSports Council in association with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR and Emirates Arabian Horse Society, supported by General Authority for Youth and Sports and Fegentri with Emirates airlines as the official carrier and sponsored by Invest AD, Al Rashid Investment, Areej Al Ameerat, Mauzan, AlAwani General Enterprises, Kabale, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, the SheikhaFatima bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2012, Wathba Stud Farm and Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
