The 1800m turf contest carries a total purse of Euro 6.312.93 in prize-money and has attracted runners from Switzerland, Holland, France and Germany with plenty of them in with a chance to make their presence felt.
Top weight Terach Al Samawi, ridden by Fabian Weissmeier, will be hard to beat. The German-bred seven-year-old veteran son of Tidjani has rarely finished out of the frame in 26 starts and should win hands and heels for trainer Mrs. Regine Weissmeier.
But, the Swiss-bred Nil Karazi, also looks good to strike for trainer Mrs. Franzisca Aeschbacher under regular partner T. Burgin.
The five-year-old chestnut son of Dormane has collected Euro 7.238 from 13 starts in which he won once and finished in the money twice, but should do the better work in this company this time out. Stable companion Nil Ashal will pose the immediate threat to the chances of Nil Karazi should he manage to relish the surface and reproduce the strong run last time out under Olivier Placais.
Meanwhile, the French-bred contender Elektrah has outside chances to stun under Silvia Casanova. Blitter Plonja, a well-bred mare in Holland daughter of Marwan ex Pakupca has won three of her 19 starts and her trainer Mrs. D. A. K. Dorenbe is confident that she can strike should the race worked in her favour.
The race is held under the directives of HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs alongside the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup and the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR as part of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival.
The HH 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, IFAHR and Emirates Arabian Horse Society, 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 Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2012,Wathba Stud Farm and Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
According to Abdulla Al Qubaisi, director of Communications at the Abu Dhabi Tourism& Culture Authority, the increasing numbers of the Wathba Stud Cup races have resulted in attracting huge numbers of participants which underlines the great success of the series.
“The authority is looking forward to outline a strategy for a number of activities, including the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup and HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR, the Wathba Stud Farm Cup, to encourage international racecourses to host additional events to provide more support and backing for small owners,” he said.
Lara Sawaya, director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Racing Festival and Head of IFAHR ladies racing said: “Under the directives and support of HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan we are here to hold the 15thround of the Wathba Stud Cup series for the first time in Switzerland.
“The move aimed at backing and encouraging small breeders and owners to look after this noble creature and we are delighted to see this huge numbers of Arabian horses coming from around the old continent to compete at this level since the said horses do not have enough room to take part in the big races on the account of their low profiles.
“The series has hit the highest level of success in the light of the big numbers of hor ses which have been declared for the races,” she added.
Abdul Rahim Al Hashemi, director of public relations and external cooperation at the Women’s General Union praised the role of the festival in promoting UAE and Abu Dhabi worldwide.
Sultan Al Nuaimi, director of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club said: “The farsightedness vision of HH Sheikh Mansoor has paid off and the festival is introducing UAE while strengthen its ties with the rest of the world.”
The same opinion was echoed by Talal Al Hashemi who thanked HH Sheikh Mansoor for the brilliant initiative.
Stephen Bowey, Executive Director (Corporate Development) Invest AD pledged determination to continue their partnership with the festival in order to achieve all its goals.
Top off icial of the Swiss Arabian Horse Development and Breeding Organisation Urs Aeschbacjer said Arabian races have developed thanks to the support of the HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival.
In the meantime, the next race will be held in Sweden on September 27. The series will be comprised of 27 international races plus 15 events within UAE as from next season.
