Dubai: The HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup made a dream debut at the Wellington racetrack in Ostend, Belgium with No Problem Al Maury winning an exciting contest.

Despite being a working day on Monday, over 10,000 fans turned out for what was an exciting day of racing and the €20,000 (Dh98,244) Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Listed) race was the feature event.

With 11 strong runners in the 1800-metre turf contest, it was once again Jean-Francois Bernard who saddled the winner with Jean-Bernard Eyquem coming up with a perfect ride. No Problem Al Maury was however challenged strongly by Voyou De Faust, Athlete Del Sol and Gazel T but Eyquem did well to stay ahead and win by over a length in a time of 2:08.19.

“The trainer asked me to just keep him within striking distance and I managed to do that for most of the race. Once we turned for home, No Problem Al Maury changed gears and I hardly had to put any effort,” the winning jockey said.

Jean-Francois Bernard, who is no stranger to success in the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, said: “It was a strong field but I did have some confidence. No Problem Al Maury ran well and now I am seriously thinking of running him in the big race in Turkey next month.”

Sulaiman Hamed Al Mazroui, UAE’s Ambassador to Belgium, attended the race along with his embassy staff and later took part in the prize distribution along with Lara Sawaya, Director of HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and Head of International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) and other guests.

“The UAE and Belgium have always enjoyed cordial relations and events like this since last year have further strengthened the bonds between the two nations. It is a pleasing sight to see so many fans cheer and support Purebred Arabian horses, which is such an integral part of the UAE’s heritage and tradition,” Al Mazroui said.