Double each for Paddys Day and Purcell at Darley Awards

Dubai - The awards marked their fifth year of hosting the awards together and the Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Darley Arabian Awards was increased to 15, giving it a truly international character.

Published: Sun 3 Apr 2016, 10:02 PM

Purebred Arabian horse connections experienced tremendous amount of pride as the Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Darley Arabian Awards and the US Darley Awards ceremony played out at the Dolby Theater in Highland Center, Hollywood, California on Friday.
The Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and the US Darley Awards, organized by the Arabian Racing Cup, marked their fifth year of hosting the awards together and the Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Darley Arabian Awards was increased to 15, giving it a truly international character.
Paddys Day was voted Horse of the Year as well as Best 4-year-old in the Darley Awards US category while Breeders and Owners Joseph and Betty Gillis, American trainer Lynn Ashby and American jockey Kelsi Purcell ended up as double winners at an impressive ceremony at the very venue where the Oscars were awarded just four weeks ago.
Earlier Abdulla Al Subose, UAE Consul General in Los Angeles, welcomed the guests who had negotiated the red carpet in true 'Oscar' style even as the crowd watched the large assembly for the Awards ceremony which not only acknowledged achievements of Purebred Arabian horses and their connections through the Darley US Awards but also recognized efforts on the global level by ladies involved in Purebred Arabian racing. "With 81 countries involved in the Shaikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, we are witnessing two eras involved in the promotion of Purebred Arabian horses in the UAE - one by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and now the second by Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs," Al Suboose said.
Abu Dhabi Sports Council General Secretary Aref Alawani said the awards ceremony reflected the passion of the UAE in promoting Arabian racing in general and the focus on women by Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.