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Saher triumphs

Saher won the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race at the Frankfurt Racecourse on Sunday.

Saher, Philippe Sogorb in the saddle, did the better work in the closing stages to beat the mount of Charles Nora in the second running of the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race at the Frankfurt Racecourse on Sunday.

It was a 1-2 finish for horses of Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, in the prestigious event.

Both horses were bred by the Wathba Stables owned by Shaikh Mansour and finished ahead of Belgian runner Kadesch DA under Filip Minarik.

The UAE Ambassador to Germany, Mohammed Al Mahmood, along with Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Director of Communications, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), Lara Sawaya, Director of Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival, Talal Al Hashmi of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Stephen Bowey of Invest AD and Adnan Sultan of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club participated in the prize distribution.

“This is a great initiative by Shaikh Mansour and will reflect in the bilateral ties between the UAE and Germany,” the UAE Ambassador Mohammed Al Mahmood said.

“Germany have a strong tradition in Purebred Arabian horses and with such a large gathering here only shows that this initiative is in the right direction and it must be continued,” Al Mahmood added. Organised by Abu Dhabi Authority of Culture and Heritage (ADACH) in co-ordination with Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Wathba Stud Farm, the race series is supported by Invest Abu Dhabi, Bonyan International Investment Group (Holding) LLC and Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2010.

“Despite the rain just before the start of today’s meeting a large crowd turned up and it was a great event. It was nice to see families along with their children enjoy the meeting and watch some top Purebred Arabian horses in action,” said Abdullah Al Qubaisi.

Lara Sawaya said, “This year’s race here in Frankfurt was elevated to a Listed race status and the presence of quality runners has enhanced this event.”

“Though Germany have not had strong runners this race has created a lot of interest and many connections were also keen to know about the first Arabian Racing Conference to be held in Abu Dhabi next month,” she said.

Talal Al Hashmi said, “We at Abu Dhabi Sports Council are thrilled with the success of the Shaikh Mansour Festival which has been promoting both Purebred Arabian racing and the emirate of Abu Dhabi at every venue.”

Stephen Bowey, Communications Director of Invest AD, said, “I have been to almost all the races in the Shaikh Mansour Festival and the interest seems to be growing with each event. For us at Invest AD it is our privilege and commitment to help spread the UAE’s heritage and culture around the globe.”

After staging races in Toulouse, France, Duindigt in The Netherlands, Delaware in the US and here in Frankfurt, Germany, the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival’s next stop is in Poland on August 22.