June 23, 2012, Pleasanton, California ~The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup Grade III, run on a card of 10 races at the Saturday Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California, turned up a one, two for owner/trainer Hellen Shelley.
First in, the son of Burning Sand, Sand De Wind (TF Desert Jewel), took the largest piece of the $20,000 prize money, followed by another Shelley trained Burning Sand son, Qjuick Sand PW (Doya Juana Dance) 1 1/4 lengths behind. The third under the wire, the Kador De Blaziet colt, Golly Bret (Golly Gal) fell back in the stretch and finished over 3 lengths behind the leader. The six furlongs on the dirt were contested by 8 horses that had come from around the USA to vie for the prize.
Shelly had the win last year with So Big Is Better at the Wathba Stud Farm Cup race here in Pleasanton and was thrilled to again be in the winner's circle.
We are going to make other breeds sit up and take notice of the Arabian horse. Sand De Wind just came from Colorado and this was a big surprise. We did set a new track record last year and that horse has gone on to bigger things with Scott Powell of Quarter Moon Ranch
Jockey Barrington Harvey was already off to the barn to find his mount for the next race, but Shelly gave him the a positive review for the ride. Barry is a go to guy. If you can give him a horse that can do it, he will. That's why we decided to put him on this horse.
Lara Sawaya, Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival and Head of the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) Ladies Racing made the announcement at the prize giving that the Fair would have the benefit next year in 2013 of the Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Cup under the directive of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan with a raised prize money of $30,000 and the addition of the $25,000 prize money, HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race, presented for the first time in California.
This is the most expensive Ladies Championship in the World, said Sawaya. The Ladies Cup will have 12 girls, one a professional rider.
We have given this race to California as the Fair is very well organized and the crowd is nice. Jeanne Wasserman and her boss and her team have done such a good job with our races. We were able to get this ladies race approved by the California State for next year's calendar. California needs a lot of support for Arabian racing and Sheikh Mansoor and the Sheikha Fatima Championship will give support.
Under the directive of HH Sheikh Mansoor, we are paying for the insurance for the jockeys in the races we support in California. The breeders will be supported. This year, we have a crowd of 30,000 people in the race stands, double the amount of last year. We are enthusiastic to have two big races here next year.?
Randy Magee, Chief Financial Office of the Alameda County Fair said, The Arabians bring another element to our racing. The beautiful horses, the pageantry the costumes; everyone enjoys this. Jeanne has worked very hard to have such a good event. We are trying to grow racing and it is great to have more Arabian racing.
I love how many people we had here today, said Wasserman. The many people down at the rail were really interested in the race. Our overall Fair attendance should register about 35,000 today. Im very excited about the Ladies Championship race. I worked hard to get it. I got permission from the Horse Racing Board with support from Jesse Choper, and Kirk Breed for the race.?
Full Results:
Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
1.Sand De Wind Barrington Harvey Helen Shelley
2.Quick Sand PW Billy Lewis Helen Shelley Warren Shelley
3.Golly Bret Jesus Valazquez Bruce Towell Sam Vasquez
4.La Jest A Flash David Essman Sandy Torok Cynthia Lipe
5.By Golly Its Hot Juan Sanchez Bruce Towell Sam Vasquez
6.Juicy Pickens Irving Orozco Diana Skinner John Degenfelder
7.Ordination Keenan Steward Helen Shelley Katherine Barbeau
8.PJ Miss Zuby Shyann Garcia Bruce Towell Susan Will and Cindy Scharli
Sawaya thanked the sponsor who support these races. These include:
The Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival is organized by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and co-ordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Racing Authority, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, and IFAHR, supported by General Authority for Youth and Sports and Fegentri with Emirates airlines as the official carrier and sponsored by Invest AD, Al Rashid Investment, Areej Al Ameerat, Mauzan, Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, the UAE's General Women's Union, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2012, Wathba Stud Farm and Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
