Second successive win for Alibaba Del Sol on White Turf
St Moritz, Switzerland
It was a Dutch double on the frozen lake in St. Moritz in Switzerland in the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival on Sunday.
Dutch trainer Karin van den Bos completed a 1-2 finish for Dutch owner Langoeld Waterland while Alibaba Del Sol under Daniel Porcu won the Festival’s Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Listed Cup for the second successive year.
Van den Bos, who received a warning for arriving late in the ring, however was soon overjoyed as her stable stars Alibaba Del Sol under Porcu and Athlete Del Sol under Andre Best fought gallantly to finish in that order.
It was a close finish with just a quarter of a length separating the two in the 1600-metre in this unique race on the ice and snow and though Porcu on the 10-year-old chestnut Alibaba Del Sol had to cough up a fine for excessive use of the whip and will also miss out next week’s action on the White Turf.
The winners took 2mins 00.8 came secs to complete the 1600-metre distance and after the Del Sol pair came Daraahem to push Nil Ashal to fourth place in the 9-horse field.
“Alibaba Del Sol is a terrific horse and even at ten he has not lost the appetite to fight and win races,” said the proud Dutch trainer Van den Bos, who has been a consistent performer in the Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
For Alibaba Del Sol, a multiple-winner of the Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup race series, it is the perfect start to 2015. In 2014 Alibaba Del Sol won this race last year and after that also won the Festival’s other premier race series-the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race in Stockholm.
Ms Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairman of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) and Chairman of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) said, “This is a popular win by Alibaba Del Sol. Once again the crowds in St Moritz were fantastic and the Purebred Arabian horses showed their racing ability on the challenging ice and snow tracks on the frozen Lake St Moritz.”
“The HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival will be back in ST Moritz within a fortnight’s time to stage the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race. That race will be another spectacular race and lady jockeys from around the world will pit their skills on Arabian horses on the ice tracks,” she said.
The Swiss leg of the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race will be held on February 22, the third and final race meeting on the White Turf for 2015.
The HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is organised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR and Emirates Arabian Horse Society, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare with The National Archives as the official partner and Emirates airline as the official carriers and sponsored by Invest AD, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Al Wathba Centre, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2015, Dr. Nader Saab Switzerland, Al Wathba Center, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Abu Dhabi Sports Channel and Racing Post.
