Casablanca, Morocco: Leading French professional lady jockey Justin Mercier steered Yakout Al Boraq home to win the 6th leg of HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) at the Casablanca-Anfa Racecourse on Friday.
The race was held under the directives of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs as part of the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
“She’s an easy going mare,” said Mercier. “I followed the instructions of the trainer by keeping my mount just off the pace and hit the front as the pack turned for home. Yakout Al Boraq never let me down when I have asked her to improve.
“Yakout Al Boraq has impressed me. She was always going well,”
Korean lady jockey Lee Ah Na broke nicely from stall nine onboard Romh L’Atlas and won the battle for the lead followed by Slovakian jockey Michala Kucharikova astride Labess Maamora while the winner was perfectly poised on the outside.
Labess Maamora chased the winner home to take second while the hot favourite Ksarah, ridden by the Moroccan lady jockey Bouchra Marmoul, came with a late run to finish third.
The winning owner and trainer thanked Shaikh Mansoor, and Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, for their great support and encouragement for Arabian horse breeding and racing.
UAE ambassador to Morocco Alsari Saeed Al Dhahri, Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the Shaikh Mansoor Festival was joined by senior racing official from Morocco as they gave away the trophies to the winners.
“The support which is received by the sports sector in the UAE underlines the keenness of the wise leadership of The President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, coupled with the role which is played by Shaikh Mansoor to promote sports in general and Arabian horse races in particular,” the UAE Ambassador said.
The HH Shaikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare.
The National Archives is the official partner and Emirates airline the official carrier.
The event is also sponsored by Invest AD, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Al Wathba Centre, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2015, Dr. Nader Saab Switzerland, Al Wathba Center, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Yas Channel, Omeir Travels and the Racing Post.
