Toulouse, France: Khataab, racing in the colours of Qatar’s Al Shaqab Racing, won the Group 2 Prix Carthage-Hannibal Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup in Toulouse, France on Friday.
Nine started in the 35,000 euro contest, which kicked-off the 2017 HH Shaikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival series in Europe.
Thomas Fourcy, who trained the winner, also saddled Meblsh to third place in the 2000 metre event.
Ridden by Jerome Crabbe, the five-year-old son of Amer staved off the challenge of Peter Sogorb’s Mehdaaf Athbah, the mount of Jean-Bernard Eyquem to make it a 1-2-3 finish for the sire Amer.
A winner of a Group 2 race here last October after having finished third to Lightning Bolt in the UAE President’s Cup UK Derby (Group 1), Khataab finished two lengths ahead of Mehdaaf Athbah.
The large crowd cheered as the 11 lady jockeys from around the globe got on their horses for the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship to compete for a slot in the November finale in Abu Dhabi.
Sha’hir, a six-year-old son of Amer who won the Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup earlier this year, triumphed under Belgium’s Alice Bertiaux.
Bertiaux, a physical education teacher who was riding her 151st race, steered the Francois Rouhat Sha’hir to a narrow win over Al Shaqab’s Khozan ridden by Sweden’s Charlotta Ericsson.
Dutch rider Leonie Vethaak on Chalwa du Breuil and French jockey Marie Lemartinel on Burj Al Arab finished third and fourth respectively in the 11-horse race over 1600-metres. The winning time registered by Sha’hir was 1:47.27 in the 30,000 euros race.
Bertiaux, 34, said she was highly pleased and elated with her victory. “This is my 16th win and I am looking forward to the final race.
“Today’s race was very impressive and certainly the competition was fierce. The trainer’s instructions helped me to control the horse and unleash it in time, and I am very happy with this win, which will be a good addition to my career record as a race jockey,” she said.
Michel Garbel, director of finance and administration at the Toulouse Track, and Nicole Kraft, director of the French Arabian Racehorse Association, Lara Sawaya, executive director of the HH Shaikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, 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) and other French officials attended the prize-giving ceremony.
