Dubai: Late Mohammed Taha, Editor-in-Chief of Al Adiyat magazine, the voice of horseracing in the UAE, will be honoured with a race being named after him during the 2020-2021 UAE racing season.
‘Taha’ as he was popularly known, came to the UAE in the Eighties, and witnessed the growth of horseracing in the country. He passed away in April this year.
Mirza Al Sayegh, Director of the Office of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, who was closely associated with Taha for many years, has proposed to the Jebel Ali Racecourse management to run a race in his name.
“I request Mr Sherif Al Halawani, the Manager of Jebel Ali Racecourse to discuss matters with the ERA to have a race instituted in his name as a fitting tribute to someone for whom racing was a way of life,” he said on Tuesday.
“Shadwell will sponsor the event, which we hope will become a permanent fixture on the UAE racing calendar.
“As a key member of the Dubai International Arabic Races (DIAR), Taha helped promoted Purebred Arabian racing around the world through his writing.
“He was a thorough professional and we gave us so many fond memories. He always performed his duties with integrity and honesty and provided many insights and ideas into how the sport of horseracing could be grown.”
Al Sayegh also paid tribute to Dr Hussain Al Redha, one of the most influential patrons of the sport of horseracing, who also passed away in July. “This was a sad year as I lost two friends, Dr Hussain and Taha, two people who was committed to the development of horse racing in the UAE. They are missed very much,”
