Trained by Jerenesto Torrez for owners Joseph and Betty Gillis, Easter Man finished ahead of Updown Sandy under Jose Garcia while last year’s joint winner Quick Sand AA under Sasha Risenhoover was third.
Easter Man finished in a timing of 1:31.97 in the 11-horse field.
Earlier in the meeting, trainer Torrez and jockey Valdez-Jimenez scored in the Festival’s Wathba Stallions Cup, also run over 1400 metres.
Dance With Me romped home under Valdez-Jimenez with Bryan McNeil on Fortaissa and Erick McNeil on Last Call MHF finished second and third in that order. The winning time was 1:36.97.
Ms. Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, General Manager of Wathba Stallions, Chairperson of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) said “It has been an exciting start to the Festival’s activities in the US. Some of the best Purebred Arabians currently racing in the US were in the line-up and we congratulate the winning connections of the winners of both the Sheikh Zayed Cup and the Wathba Stallions Cup.”
The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, with National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. LLC as associate sponsors, The National Archives as the official partner and Emirates airline as the official carriers, in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and sponsored by Ayadi LLC, Global United Veterinary Services LLC, Wathba Stallions, Abu Dhabi Falconers Club, Emirates Falconers Club, Mohamed Bin Zayed Falconry and Desert Physiognomy School, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Omeir Travels, Laboratories Fadia Karam Cosmetics, YAS Channel, Racing Post, Paris Turf, Al Wathba Centre, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2017, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Anantara Eastern Mangroves Spa and Resort.
