Mansour’s Rasikh starts favourite

The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Listed) and the Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) races to be held in Stockholm, Sweden today (Tuesday) have attracted quality fields. The two races are being run as part of the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival, with 12 runners in each of the two races. The Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup is a listed race in which the Jean Pierre-Totain-trained Rasikh, owned by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, will be starting off as one of the favourites. Rasikh will be ridden by Thomas Fourcy and, with five wins, two second and two third-place runs in 12 starts, is the horse to beat. Joshua Brown, trained by Camilla Moberg, also comes in with a strong reputation, while the other horses in the fray include Yaqoot, Sanovagan, Al Dahis, Al Raai, Milord, Maaloof, Meduz, Athlete Del Sol, El Weiron, and Wassim.With a total prize fund of Euros 25,000 on offer, the contest over a distance of 1,600 metres is expected to see the Purebred Arabians in the region in a close contest. The UAE’s Shathra Al Hajaj is among the 12 lady jockeys who have lined up for the Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) race over a distance of 1,200 metres. The Shaikha Fatima races are being run as a series, with all winners of the races set to take part in the final to be staged in Abu Dhabi in November. Apart from Al Hajaj, Oman’s Fatma Al Manji – a winner of this race in Houston – joins 10 other amateur lady jockeys for the Euros 20,000 race. Abdullah Al Qubaisi, representing the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority. said the strong field of runners reflected the status of Arabian racing in the region. “We are very happy with the success of our races here in Sweden, and we hope the two races will serve up some exciting racing for the fans here,” he said. “The Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) race is making its debut here in Sweden, and we are fully aware that there are a lot of lady jockeys competing in races here in this region,” said Lara Sawaya, Director of the Shaikh Mansour Festival and Head of Ladies Racing in IFAHR. The horses and lady jockeys competing in today’s race: LS Flying Chanel (Jane Mangan); Saht Dakkhar (Catherine Burn); Anagorn Z Regula (Rachael Kneller); Serouda Du Breuil (Delphine Garcia-Dubois); Sakba (Shathra Al Hajaj); Wilmer Walewski (Hillevi Ljungqvist); El Dor Tanam (Dina Lopez-Leret); My Golden Heart (Duygu Fatura); Djerfo De Bozouls (Zoe Leigh Valvo); Maggia (Stephanie Rank); Shezza (Hana Jurankova); and Windflower (Fatma Al Manji). from gulfnews.com