London: Royal Cavalry of Oman swept the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Listed PA) race and the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race to complete a superb double at the Newbury racecourse on Saturday evening.
Top weight Djet Taouy, trained by Jean Francois Bernard, stormed home David Michaux to win the first running of the event with a total prize fund of £70,000 (Dh431,000).
Earlier, Brazilian lady jockey Jeane Alves teamed up with Omani trainer Salem Al Hakamani on Marif for a winning debut in HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship with a prize fund of £25,000, the richest ever race for ladies to be held in the UK.
“It’s a national pride for me to fly my country’s flag in this most prestigious championship in which lady jockeys from all over the world compete.
“I hope to repeat the success in the final leg in Abu Dhabi when I make my first trip to the Middle East in November,” said the Brazilian ace, who completed her 451st win.
“This is my first success on the back of an Arabian horse. I have finished second and third on two occasions back home in Brazil,” she added.
The winner covered the seven furlongs distance in 1:39.45 seconds to prevail by a length and a quarter from Sophia under British jockey Page Fuller while Moroccan Marmoul Bouchra finished third on Suhaim.
In the Shaikh Zayed race, Djet Taouy under French jockey David Michaux outclassed a strong field to win the Listed race for Bernard, a prominent winner on the Festival’s circuit.
“It’s a well-deserved victory for Djet Taouy and for the man on board who assisted him to a classy win,” Bernard said. The winner clocked 2.26.20 seconds to finish ahead of favourite Nashmi with Shane Kelly guiding Shadyia to third place.
Lara Sawaya, Executive director of the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and Chairman of Ladies Racing at the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) said: “This is the strongest field in the ladies’ championship race and I’m truly happy for the Brazilian jockey who has travelled all this way to show the magic of the Samba girls. It’s once again a great ride by the Moroccan lady Bouchra to take third in this competitive race.”
“It was a great evening and all the delegates from around the world who attended the three-day World Arabian Horse Racing Conference witnessed some exciting action on the racetracks.
“We still have the endurance event tomorrow after which we move to Stockholm in Sweden for two more races in the Festival,” she added.
