13 lady jockeys vie for race honours
FROM OUR ABU DHABI BUREAUMay 04, 2012
ABU DHABI: Thirteen lady jockeys including, UAE’s Shathra Hajjaj will battle it out in the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Flat Racing Festivals’ Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Championship (International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing —IFAHR ) race at the Anfa Hippodrome in Casablanca, Morocco on Friday.The total prize money on offer in the fourth round of the championship is Euros 20,000 and the distance to cover is 2,000 metres.
“I have finished close second and third in the first and second legs of the competition in Muscat and US and I think the time has come to go one better,” said Hajjaj who will ride top weight Siniman Maamora.
Qatari rider Khadija Al Bastaki said she didn’t travel all that long distance from the Gulf to this part of the world for nothing.
“They have told me that my mount has every chance to cross the finish line ahead of the others. That’s great news and hopefully I can reserve a dream line-up in the final round from Casablanca,” she said.
Oman’s Azhar Al Wardi, riding Raf II, is set to launch her claim from stall 12 while the only professional jockey Nina Wagner starts on hot favourite astride Kawtar Mus.
Meanwhile, the International Day of Purebred Arabian Horse features six races highlighted with the Grand Prix De Sa Ma Jeste Le Roi Mohammed VI (Group-3), the King’s Cup which carries a total purse of 1.2m Moroccan Dirhams. The 2100-metre race is reserved for four-year and older Purebred Arabians, both colt and mares.
A small but quality field of seven runners has been declared for the prestigious event.
The Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing 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, supported by General Authority for Youth and Sports and Fegentri with Emirates airlines as the official carrier.
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