St Moritz, Switzerland: The snow racetrack on the St Moritz Lake in Switzerland is all set to play host to a fantastic contest — weather permitting — with lady riders on Purebred Arabian horses in the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) race on Sunday.
The race is set to be run over 1600-metres on the ice/snow track and this is the third leg of the of the world championship for ladies for 2016.
The horses and lady jockeys in the fray are Alibaba Del Sol under Dina Danekilde, Athlete Del Sol under Marie-Anne Bernadet, Nil Ashal under Jessica Marcialis, Al Murjaan under Csenge Sutak, El Dor Pribot under Nadia Burger, Winston Rocket under Caroline Murtagh, Al Janoob under Ann Stokell, Nil Kamla under Anna van den Troost, Oriental Myth under Astrid Wullschleger, Djeko Saric under Rebecca Danz and Zanubiya A under Karin Zwahlen.
While last week’s Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup was reduced to a four-furlong race (800 metres), the organisers of this unique event are hoping for help from the weather gods.
“We are waiting for the predicted cold front that should arrive at the end of the week. We have to wait every hour and every day, and hope the expected cold weather will help to optimise preparations so that everything will be ready for the event,” said Silvio Martin Staub, President of St. Moritz Racing Association and CEO of White Turf.
“We are told that major parts of the outer rails of the racetrack are available for training purposes and this gives us hope,” said Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
“Last week’s winner Nil Ashal and last year’s winner Al Janoob along with Alibaba Del Sol and Athlete Del Sol are all starting and we are expecting a cracker of a race,” she said.
