Dubai: The HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s HH Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race makes its debut at Newbury racecourse in the UK on Saturday.

Meanwhile, lady jockeys from Brazil and Japan will compete in the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race for the first time.

As the curtain comes down on the fifth World Arabian Horse Racing Conference at the St James Theatre in London, the action shifts to the racecourse and the festival’s two flagship races.

In the HH Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, which is a Listed Purebred Arabians event with a prize fund of £70,000 (Dh430,274), Nashmi under Pierantonio Convertino and Djet Taouy under David Michaux are likely to battle it out for honours.

The other horses and jockeys in the 2,000-metre contest are Nerbah (Steve Drowne), Tawaazun (Tadhg O’Shea), Lahoob (M. Stanley), Pacific Athbah (Sam Hitchcott), Radames (P. Collington), Djakbar Des Forges (Jadey Pietrasiewicz), Azizi (J.F. McDonald), Nekhen Taoui (M. Manueddu), Munya Farah (M. Monaghan) and Shadiya (Shane Kelly).

The HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship, with a prize fund of £25,000, is the richest-ever race for ladies to be held in the UK.

Brazil’s Jeane Alves on Marif and Japan’s Chiaki Iwanaga on Altesse Kossack will be making debuts for their respective countries in the race.

Germany’s Larissa Biess on Syrah Gris, Holland’s Tjarda Humphreij on Vigile Du Loup, Oman’s Azher Al Wardi on Kiraa, Korea’s Park Jong-hyun on LB Armani, Ireland’s Aine O’Conner on Man Of Dreams, the UK’s Page Fuller on Sophia, Camille Peltier on Sharaf, Morocco’s M. Bouchra on Suhaim, Slovakia’s M. Kucharikova on Radical and Sweden’s H. Martensson on Hetaf are the other runners.

“I am looking forward to make a winning debut and clinching a spot for the Abu Dhabi finale,” said Alves, the 25-year-old Brazilian who has more than 450 wins including two Grade 1 victories. But she will have to get the better of Man Of Dreams and Altesse Kossack, who are considered to be strong favourites.

Racing Manager Amanda Smith said: “I am very pleased that the UK has attracted strong international entries for the inaugural UK running of the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayhan Cup. This valuable race is a very welcome addition to the UK’s international calendar.

“The HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship has always been one of the most well-supported races of the ARO calendar and this is true once again.”

Lara Sawaya, executive director of the festival and chairman of ladies’ racing at the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR), said: “While the World Arabian Horse Racing Conference has kept the nearly 350 delegates busy, the races are all set to provide excitement to the fans here in the UK. We are delighted with the participation of lady jockeys from more new countries and this augurs well for the sport.”