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The 2000-metre race has attracted some of the best 4-year
old Purebred Arabians and will be run just after the King
George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, one of the highlights of
British flat racing season. Her Majesty The Queen of England
is the patron of the Ascot Racecourse. The King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth Stakes commemorate her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth’s late parents.
Making a strong bid to win this race will be Asayel trainer
Rod Simpson, who got this year’s Purebred Arabian race series
sponsored by the Emirates Equestrian Federation off to a fine
start when Fryvolous won the opener at Newmarket on July 8,
2009.
Simpson-trained Jazeerat Alsadyat and Elmalak Elwaheed have
shown some promising form early in their careers while racing
in the UAE. Both horses are owned by UAE President His
Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. For the Ascot
race, Jazeerat Alsadyat will be ridden by Ted Durcan while
Elmalak Elwaheed will have Daragh O’Donohoe on board.
Adjinn d’Aroco, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Deputy Rule of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Raked, owned
by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, are also part
of the 13-strong field. Adjinn d’Aroco will be ridden by
Richard Hills whereas Raked will have Francois-Xavier Bertras
astride.
Qatari raider General (owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah
bin Khalifa al Thani, ridden by Thierry Jarnet and trained by
Miss Sandrine V Tarrou) and Saudi Arabian raider Nayef Al
Khalidiah (owned by Al Khalidiah Stables, ridden by
Christophe-Patrice Lemaine and trained by Jean-Franscois
Bernard) are also in the fray in this Group 1 contest which
has a total prize money of £50,000 on offer.
Other runners include Gameel (owned by Kok-Cornet, ridden by
Thierry Jarnet and trained by Miss Sandrine V. Tarrou),
Hidalgo (Owned by Mrs J.R. Kelway, ridden by S. Harrison and
trained by Mrs A.L.Colledge), Genuinely At Risk ( owned by
Athbah Stud Ltd, ridden by Jim Crowley and trained by W.M.
Smith), Rabah de Carrere (owned by Mohammed Saeed Naser Al
Romaithi, ridden by Alan Munro and trained by Miss Georgina
Ward), Theoretically (owned by Athbah Stud Ltd, ridden by
Simon Walker and trained by W.M. Smith), Tidarbret (owned by
Middleton Stud and trained by D.M. Batleate) and Dorat Nour
(owned by Mohd Saeed Naser Al Romaithi, ridden by Eddie Ahem
and trained by Miss. Georgina Ward).
Taleb Dhaher Al Muhairi, Secretary General of the Emirates
Equestrian Federation, had in March signed a five-year
agreement with Charles Barnett, Chief Executive of Ascot
Racecourse Limited for staging this prestigious Purebred
Arabian race on an annual basis.
“It will be a historic day for Purebred Arabian racing. The
President of the UAE Cup (Group 1) race which is the Arabian
Derby of UK is part of one of the most important days in
British racing. The King George’s and the Abu Dhabi
International Stakes are being held today and one of the
biggest crowds is expected,” said Taleb Dhaher Al Muhairi.
“The Ascot management has shown huge support for this race and
we believe that the new relationship will have huge benefits
not only in the development of Purebred Arabian racing around
the world but also in the relationship between the UAE and
UK," Al Muhairi added.
The His Highness The President of the UAE Championship Derby
for Purebred Arabian horses is in its 15th year. The series,
organised in major European cities every year by the Emirates
Equestrian Federation (EEF), was first staged in 1994 with a
race in Chantilly in France, with the support of the late
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. With today’s debut at Ascot
it will be another milestone in the UAE’s bid to promote
Purebred Arabian racing around the world.
The first race meeting ever held at Ascot took place on
Saturday, August 11, 1711. Her Majesty’s Plate, worth 100
guineas and open to any horse, mare or gelding over the age of
six, was the inaugural event. The racecourse underwent a major
redevelopment programme in 2004 and till date considered the
ultimate stage for the best racehorses in the world. |
