Dubai: America’s top Purebred Arabian Sammy V, ridden by Italian jockey Gianluca Sanna, ran a track record to win the opening stage of the inaugural Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice Jockey Championships in Sacramento, California on Saturday.
The 2008 colt by Burning Sand out of Heaven Kan Wait, who is trained by Ken Danyluk, registered his ninth win in 14 starts and remained unbeaten in 2014.
Saturday’s race was the start of a new five-stage series organised by the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and saw 10 apprentice jockeys from around the world line up for a six-furlong dirt contest.
It was Limitless that jumped early, but Sammy V soon reeled him in and was 10 lengths before the quarter pole. Sammy V went on to break the track record with a winning time of 1 min 17.40 sec.
Helen Shelley’s Ayers under Gamma Tutty from the UK finished second ahead of In X Hess, with Ireland’s Laura Barry on board, while US rider Laura Carson brought in Limitless in fourth.
An overjoyed Sanna said owner Sam Vasquez had asked him before the race “Can you stay on?” adding, “If you can do that, you’ll win”.
“This was a great win,” said Vasquez. “We are heading in the right direction here with the support of the Shaikh Mansour Festival. If this does not motivate Arabian owners to breed and race, I don’t know what will.”
Abdullah Ali Al Saboosi, the UAE’s Consul General based in Los Angeles, and Lara Sawaya, executive director of the Festival and chairperson of ladies’ racing at the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR), distributed the trophies.
“It is simply amazing to see how the Shaikh Mansour Festival has been growing in stature every year. The future of Purebred Arabian racing is in capable hands,” Al Saboosi said.
Sawaya announced that a bonus of €30,000 (Dh149,000) would be shared among the five-stage Shaikha Fatima series’ top five horses to increase the competition. The remaining races will be held in Newbury, UK on August 3, Baden-Baden, Germany on September 7, Tarbes, France on October 12, and the finale will be in Abu Dhabi on November 9.
She added that the Shaikh Mansour Festival would be back in the US for the Shaikh Zayed Bin Al Nahyan Cup in Los Alamitos, California, in September, with an added $45,000 (Dh165,000) of prize money.
The festival’s presence in the US will also be given a boost with the $150,000 Triple Jewel, with races in Houston, Texas (Amethyst), Pleasanton, California (Emerald Green), and Los Alamitos, California (Diamond). Horses will gain points based on their finish in each of the three races and the one with the most points will collect the bonus.
The Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is organised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in association with Emirates Racing Authority.
