Tahnoun's horses win two awards
Oman's Azhar Al Wardi takes coveted best jockey honours
Houston: Two horses owned by Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Emiri Aviation Authority, scooped awards while Oman's Azhar Al Wardi was feted with the Best Jockey award in Sunday's 2012 Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival Darley Awards and the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards.
Golden Odessy, which recovered from a severe injury while a yearling to win two races as a three-year-old in 2011, was named Best 3-year-old horse while Dixies Valentine won the ‘Best Mare' award in the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards after earning in vain, two Darley nominations.
According to Sharon Clark, who looks after Shaikh Tahnoun's horses at Rigbie Farm in Harford County, Maryland in the US, Golden Odessy was severely lame when she was a yearling and x-rays revealed that the filly had fractured her tibia in two places.
Her fractures were mended with bone screws and wires and the filly showed a big heart when racing as a three-year-old and notching up two fine wins.
Three trophies
Dixies Valentine was nominated ‘Older Mare' as well as the ‘Horse of the Year' categories in the 2012 Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival Darley Awards but lost out to TM Superbird and TM Fred Texas respectively.
However, the champion mare was named "Best Mare' in the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards to make it a double for owner Shaikh Tahnoun.
Oman's Azhar Al Wardi bagged the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Award for Best Jockey while Sam Vasquez walked away with three trophies.
Vasquez was named Best owner while his horse TM Fred Texas won the Best 4-year-old colt/gelding for 2011 and also picked up the prestigious Horse of the Year award.
English trainer Gillian Duffield was named Best Trainer in the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards which honours women in Purebred Arabian racing.
Australia's Maureen Milburn won the prestigious HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Lifetime Award for her service to Arabian racing.
Omar Al Shamsi, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in the US, welcomed the gathering while Lara Sawaya, Director of the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival, placed on record the Festival's activities and thanked all those involved in the Awards ceremony.
Apart from Al Shamsi and Sawaya, Abdul Mohsin Al Dossary, Assistant Under Secretary of Sports at the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, Abdul Rahim Al Hashemi of the General Women's Union, Talal Al Hashemi of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Ali Mousa Al Khamiri of Dubai Equestrian Club, Patrick Buckley of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club and Stephen Bowey of Invest AD attended the awards and participated in distributing the prestigious awards.
Winners
Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival Darley Awards:
- 3 Year Old Colt or Gelding: Born To Boogie MC
- 3 Year Old Filly: Golden Odessy
- 4 Year Old Colt or Gelding: T M Fred Texas
- 4 Year Old Filly: Sanddpiper
- Older Horse: Grilla
- Older Mare: TM Super Bird
- Owner: Sam Vasquez
- Breeder:Todd Moak
- Trainer: Ron Martino
- Jockey: Ricardo Santana
- Horse of the Year: TM Fred Texas
Winners of the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards:
- Best Breeder: Dianne Waldron (US)
- Best Owner: Margaret de Ruitter (Ned)
- Best Trainer: Gillian Duffield (UK)
- Best Jockey: Azhar Al Wardi (Oman)
- Best Mare: Dixies Valentine (US)
- Lifetime Achievement: Maureen Milburn (Aus)
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