A seven-strong field of purebred Arabians will vie for top honours in the 12th round of the Wathba Stud Farm Cup at the Ferndale Racecourse, California on Saturday.

The race is open to maiden three-year-olds and over and will be run over five furlongs.

While the seven-year-old gelding EC Numero Quest, who will carry top weight, appears to head the challenge under stakes winning jockey April Boag for trainer Sandy Torok, Kentucky Bay can pose a threat with multiple stakes winning jockey Barrington Harvey in the saddle.

Limitless, the mount of graded stakes winning-rider Anthony M. Ayala, has an outside chance should he maintain his strong recent form.
Other runners include the Helen Shelly-trained Limitlace, Tokok’s second runner Up N Running, Diana L. Skinner’s Hitda Mark and On The Verge, who represents newcomer Morris F. Parker.

The race is held under the umbrella of the His Highness Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival to encourage small breeders and owners around the world to breed and race Arabian horses.

Abdullah Al Qubaisi, director of Communications at the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, said that the His Highness Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival has become a landmark in the racing map of purebred Arabian horses worldwide.

“We are truly happy to see all these signs of success thanks to the wise vision and farsightedness of His Highness Shaikh Mansour,” he said.

Lara Sawaya, director of the Festival and head of IFAHR ladies racing, added: “The His Highness Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival intends to encourage the organisers of horse races around the world to open their hearts and minds for the promotion of the Arabian horse and to increase the number of Arabian races in the different race tracks.

“The Wathba Stud Farm Cup is mainly concerned with the support and backing of small owners and breeders,” she added.

The Festival is organised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and co-ordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Arabian Horse Society and IFAHR. It is supported by the General Authority for Youth and Sports and Fegentri with Emirates airlines as the official carrier.

It is additionally sponsored by Invest AD, Al Rashid Investment, Areej Al Ameerat, Mauzan, Al Awani Genera Enterprises, Kabale, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition2012, Wathba Stud Farm and Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.