The first GrIII (PA) race of the Scandinavian season will be run at Jägersro Racecourse on the 15’th of May. The Wathba Stud Farm Cup will see a field of fourteen from five different countries, including Danish and Scandinavian champion, SR Dorwan (Marwan).
SR Dorwan
The winner of the 2010 edition has been on the easy-list since he was runner-up last year in this race on his seasonal debut, just getting pipped on the line by Bachi Bouzouk with the 2011 Qatar Arabian World Cup (GrI PA) runner Sartejano, half-a-length in arrears. On paper Dorwan has 7 kg in hand and could very well prove a factor again.
The German raider Ameretto (Amer) must be seen with a chance, too, though he has a similar history of lay-offs. He has won 5 of his 6 races but did not race last year and only once the year before. This season he has raced once, finishing 2’nd to Sartejano with one of the three of the Dutch entries, Athlete del Sol (Dormane) well behind. The Dutchman had traffic problems in the race and might well run into trouble again from his outside stall. With a clear run, he’s in with a good chance, knowing the track from his 2’nd behind the very smart filly Gharra’a and beating Sartejano to 3’rd in last years Scandinavian Arabian Derby. Of the two other Dutch horses, the stable companions, Gazel T (Prince d’Orient) and Mirabella del Sol (Kerbella), the latter is the highest rated. She won half her races last year and was 3½ lengths behind Ameretto in her only start this season and now meets him on 2 kg better terms.
Danish owned and bred, but polish trained 4-y-o Pentagon (Marwan) is well in on the weights with the older and newly repatriated ex-pole El Weiron (Neiron) only 2 kg worse off excluding the weight-for-age difference.
El Weiron has been in the frame in 12 of his 16 races, winning 6 of them, while the still improving Pentagon has won 4 out of 5, being 4’th on his debut. Both should do well.
Bachi Bouzouk wins 2011 edition
Two other 4-y-o horses will participate representing the homeside. The four times raced filly Sweet Dauphine (Daffaq) was the highest rated 3-y-o in Scandinavia last season. Winning both her races this season, she has on both occasions beaten older Scandinavian elite performers including the other Wathba Stud Farm Cup runners Joshua Brown (Samsheik), Maggia (Portmer), Sakba (Al Sakbe) ,W Helge (Dorwan du Cayrou,and the rank outsider LL Donner (Drug). She could do so again, but also has to take stable companion and fellow 4-y-o Daytona (Daffaq) into consideration, though she beat him in April to 2’nd in his first race ever by 3 lengths and is 6 kg better off now.
It should prove a good race and further improve the standing of Arabian Horse racing in Scandinavia along with coming fine and generously sponsored races in the calendar.
Photo: 2011Wathba Stud Farm Cup at Jägersro. SR Dorwan (Marc Stott) on the rails fighting it out with the winner Bachi Bouzouk (Shane Karlsson) on the outside with Sartejano (Adrie de Vries) inbetween them finishing 3’rd.
From Scandanavia~Nils Rosenkjaer
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