Warsaw, Poland: Rupa Narpat Singh, a female jockey of Indian origin, makes her highly-anticipated debut in the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR), the penultimate leg of the series at the Sluzewiec Racetrack Horse Race Track in Poland on Sunday.
Singh, who began riding at the age of four, faces nine rivals including eight amateur jockeys from France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Oman, Sweden and Great Britain.
The €30,000 (Dh146,161) contest is the 13 round of the series which is held under the banner of the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
“My grandfather introduced me to riding but my father encouraged me to be a jockey,” Singh once said in an interview published in the Times of India. “There were no women jockeys around so my father thought it would be a challenge and create a record.
“Initially, other jockeys didn’t take me seriously. They were sure I wasn’t a threat since I was so lean and a woman.”
Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the Shaikh Mansour Festival and chairman of the IFAHR Ladies Racing Committee, welcomed Singh’s participation in the series.
“Poland is making history because it will see the debut of the top Indian professional lady jockey Rupa Singh, a winner of 506 races from 3,000 starts,” she said. “With India onboard, the countries which are represented in the festival have increased from 55 to 56 nations.”
Hosts Poland will be represented by the 17-year-old rider Joanna Wyrzyk, the daughter of Adam Wyrzyk, currently one of the best trainers in the country. The talented teenager began her track career last April and has won six races from 17 starts.
Meanwhile, seven horses have been declared to contest the 11th round of the €35,000 Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan-Nagroda Europy (G3) early in the afternoon at the same venue.
Among them are the French-bred Ameretto who is bidding to claim the European Racing Award for the third time.
This race will also feature three Polish-bred horses, including last year’s Derby winner Wares, Ziko, this year’s winner and the mare Afrah.
The UAE race day will also host many attractions for guests including the paintings by Zbigniew Kotowski, Krzysztof Jarocki and Katarzyna Stefanowicz, whose main inspiration and leading motifs are horses.
Between the races there will be two horse shows presented by the Karolina Wajda Horse Riding Academy.
The HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is organised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR and Emirates Arabian Horse Society.
