August is a very exciting month for the H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival in the UK, with two full race-days at Hereford Racecourse, featuring 11 Wathba Stallions and Wathba Stud Farm Cup races for UK domestic horses. The first of these meetings will be held on August 7th and the next on August 28th. 

However, the highlight of the Festival's races in August will be the two Emirates Days at Sandown Park on 19th and 20th. The H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship, IFAHR, and the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, Group1 PA, are part of two days of racing including Thoroughbred races, supported by the H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival. 

The Arabian Racing Organisation, ARO, welcomed the news that the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, to be run on 20th August, is to increase its prize fund by GBP10,000 to GBP80,000. The Group 1 race for Purebred Arabians will be run over a mile at the prestigious Grade One track. 

Following the first entry stage there is an exciting list of 24 entries, with more than half rated over 100, it promises to be a top quality contest. There could be more to come, as the supplementary stage closes on 10th August. The entries so far include Kalino, the winner of the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan 2015 Jewel Crown. With a prize fund of 1.2 million Euros, the Jewel Crown is the world's richest Arabian horse race and is also sponsored by the H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival. 

The family oriented two-day Sandown Park fixture opens on Friday, 19th August, with the UK leg of the H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship, IFAHR, Series, also run over a mile. This innovative contest travels the globe and allows both amateur and professional lady jockeys to compete against each other on Purebred Arabians. 

Genny Haynes, ARO Director, said, "ARO is delighted to receive such a generous increase to the prize fund of the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup at Sandown Park. This is the first time we have staged both these H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Festival races at Sandown Park, following a successful visit with the H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship race last year. The race will be the pinnacle of an incredible month of H.H. Sheikh Mansour Festival races in the UK." 

She continued, "Thanks to the continued and generous support of the H.H. Sheikh Mansour Festival and its Executive Director, Ms. Lara Sawaya, Arabian racing in the UK continues to flourish. In addition to the forthcoming events at Sandown Park, the H.H. Sheikh Mansour Festival has sponsored four full fixtures at Hereford, two of which are in August. This brings their overall direct sponsorship of UK Arabian racing to over GBP200,000 this season, an increase on previous years, which provides vital support to the grass-roots of the sport." 

Concluding, Haynes said, "It is also thanks to the H.H. Sheikh Mansour Festival that we now have full colour race cards and results coverage in The Racing Post, in both their print and online editions. Also instigated is a worldwide database for Arabian racing, to be in place by the end of the year, which further extends the reach of the sport both in the UK and around the world." 

The H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, with National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. as associate sponsors, IPIC as Strategic Partner, The National Archives as the official partner and Emirates Airline as the official carriers, in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, and is sponsored by Al Aweer Stables, Ayadii LLC, Global United Veterinary Services, Bloom, Petromal, Rise General Trading Co., Hayatna, Wathba Stallions, Abu Dhabi Falconers Club, Emirates Falconers Club, Mohamed bin Zayed Falconry and Desert Physiognomy School, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ADNEC, Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Omeir Travel, Dr. Nader Saab Switzerland, Laboratories Fadia Karam Cosmetics, YAS Channel, The Racing Post, Paris Turf, Al Wathba Centre, the UAE General Women's Union, The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, the H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2016, ADIHEX, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites-Abu Dhabi by Jannah, and the Anantara Eastern Mangroves Spa and Resort.

Source; WAM