Ajtebi takes on jockey's challenge

Rising star Ahmad Ajtebi takes on the likes of Johnny Murtagh, Frankie Dettori and Olivier Peslier in the two-day international jockeys' challenge that starts today.

Last updated: July 22, 2019 | 19:00

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Dubai: Rising star Ahmad Ajtebi takes on the likes of Johnny Murtagh, Frankie Dettori and Olivier Peslier in the two-day international jockeys' challenge that starts today.

Other top jockey participating in the popular event at the Mauritius Turf Club include Tom Queally, Stephane Pasquier and local favourites Shane Dye, the New Zealander who won the Mauritian championship on the final day of the season last week, and South African Glen Hatt, a regular visitor to the island for 12 years and third in this year's title race.

Dettori is hoping to win the event for the first time since 2000 while Ajtebi is hoping to make his mark at the top level after winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in November and two Group 1 races in Dubai on Dubai World Cup day.

The weekend also includes the last leg of the season-long Fegentri series for women amateurs.

Between the age of seven and 15, Ajtebi's race-riding was restricted to camels over all trips between five furlongs and six-and-a-half miles. He once said of the differences between his old vocation and horse racing:

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