Stockholm: The Swedish National Day ended on a perfect note for Maria Hagman-Eriksson as the owner-trainer won two prestigious Purebred Arabian horse races at Gardet on Monday in Stockholm.
Hagman-Eriksson’s Toutatix, under Dayverson De Barros, scored a stunning victory in the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup Listed race after Ireland’s Nora Looby steered Hagman-Eriksson’s Al Janoob — which ran in Rome in last week’s Shaikh Zayed Cup at Capenelli finishing second behind Ziyadd — to victory in the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race.
Thousands thronged the Gardet park area in downtown Stockholm on the Swedish national day. The two Arabian races under the umbrella of the HH Shaikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival were part of the special race meeting.
Though one expected the unbeaten Macallan and Gazel T, winner of the Festival’s Wathba Stud Farm Cup earlier in the season for a record fifth successive time to battle it out in the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Listed Cup, it was Toutatix, a seven-year-old son of Ambriorix, that prevailed over Kao Kat. The winner under De Barros covered the 1,500-metre distance in 1:42:50.
Macallan, under Anna Pilroth, finally tasted defeat in five starts and finished fourth behind Mad Makz under Fanny Olsson while Gazel T was sixth behind Pentagon.
In the Ladies Championship, the Irish jockey Looby showed her class when she kept Al Janoob in the hunt and then stormed away to win with much to spare. Al Janoob, a seven-year-old son of Magic De Piboul, showed that he is a good traveller after racing last Sunday in Rome and then coming over to win here in Stockholm, covering the 2,750-metre distance in 3:17:30 seconds.
Sweden’s Rebecca Colldin, a last-minute replacement for Italian Kristen Bezdekova did well to finish second on Suhaim while W Catchcash under Danielle Hodsdon of the US finished third.
Maria Hagman-Eriksson seems to have taken over from where Dutch trainer Karin van den Bos left as the latter had scored doubles in the Festival’s races in two previous editions. “I dedicate this twin success to my twins,” said the Swede who has been a regular visitor to Abu Dhabi for the endurance and for the Festival’s events. “These wins are all the more sweet as I have a strong relationship with Abu Dhabi, which is the capital of Arabian racing. It is a great achievement for me to bag this big double,” the winning owner and trainer of Toutatix and Al Janoob said.
Sultan Bin Rashid Al Kaitoob, UAE Ambassador to Sweden, along with Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Adec Director General, and Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Shaikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival gave away the trophies.
