May 17, 2012, London, England ~ The fifth round of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) race will be held on Saturday, May 19, at Newbury Racecourse outside of London.
In a Press Conference with reporters, trainers and lady riders, Ms. Lara Sawaya, Director of the Sheikh Mansour Festival as well as Director of IFAHR Ladies Racing said, “We are truly pleased to have this prestigious event held in the UK.”
“This event has evolved from a Cup race to a World Championship series,” she continued. “We held the first race of the season in January in Oman, the second in Australia, then in March in Houston in the United States, and the fourth leg in Morocco.”
Sawaya said there are more surprises to come and the biggest of all would be announced on race day.
“A professional lady jockey will be invited to compete in each series of the ten rounds which will end in Abu Dhabi in November, where one of the 108 invited girls will go home with the gift of a Mercedes Benz,” she stated. The invited professional rider for the Newbury race will be Annelie Hollstenius from Sweden, who won in the pick of mounts a ride on Katwalk (Makzan x CS Shamal).
The Ladies World Championship is a platform to provide interest in Arabian racing and the hope to help build a strong statement in favor of women’s racing worldwide as well as the encouragement of future woman jockeys.
The 11 amateur lady riders for the Newbury series and their mounts in the sixth race on the card are:
Shathra Al Hajjaj from the UAE riding Our Princess (Prince Dormant x Balladore)
Azhar Al Wardi from Oman riding Senor Doublecheck (Bengali D’Albret x Mais)
Jane Foley from Ireland riding Andaleeb (Newday x Gagarka)
Stephanie Husser from France riding Whisper (The Wiking x Sucha)
Silke Bruggemann from German riding Virath (Virgule Al Maury x Star Path)
Anna Wallace of Great Britain riding Al Mamoon (Passem Lotois (FR) – Al Hanoof)
Nicole Schlatter from Switzerland riding Altesse Kossack (Marwan x Azedine)
Tjarda Van Den Broek Humphreij from the Netherlands riding Jamaahir ( Makzan x Tikis Tiffany)
Veronika Aske from Norway riding Muhal (Amer x Babelia)
Manuela Slamanig from Austria riding Silaah (Fadjik x Danise)
Amy Lyn Mullen from the USA riding Syrah Gris (Khoutoubia x Akara De Syrah)
It is worth mentioning that the highest rated Thoroughbred in the World, Frankel (Galileo, x Kind) will run his first race of the season at 3:40 pm in the Group 1 JLT Lockinge Stakes just before the 4:15 pm Ladies’ Championship.
Stephen Higgins, managing director of Newbury Racecourse, said: “We are grateful to be the home of the Arabian races in the UK and we are delighted to host this prestigious women’s event. Frankel will be racing on the same day and a big crowd is expected to turn out to watch the world’s highest-rated racehorse.”
Genny Haynes, representing the Arabian Racing Organization (ARO), said, “It is a good to have this opportunity to promote the Ladies’ Day in the UK,” and thanked the organizers for the support to promote the Arabian horse in the UK and the rest of the world.
Other officials attending were Sultan Al Darmaki, from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom, Talal Al Hashemi from Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Abdulla Al Muhairi of the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, and Aseela Al Hashemi, who attended on behalf of the General Women’s Union.
Full Race Card:Newbury 19 May Arabian Racecard
~end