LIPPO DE CARRERE WINS UAE PRESIDENT CUP (Group 1PA)
LIPPO DE CARRERE WINS UAE PRESIDENT CUP (Group 1PA)
A first UK Arabian Derby success for Wathnan Racing at Doncaster on BetFred St Leger Day
Lippo De Carrere ridden by Mickael Barzalona for Alban de Mieulle, led home a one-two for Wathnan Racing in the UAE President Cup sponsored UK Arabian Derby (Gr1PA), at Doncaster today. Moneer and Jean-Bernard Eyquem for Damien de Watrigant was half a length behind in second, with Shaihaan and BetFred St Leger winning jockey Tom Marquand a further half a length away in third for Al Shaqab Racing and Francois Rohaut.
In front of a crowd of around 27,000, the steel grey colt gave his sire Al Mourtajez a third successive victory in the race, with the second and third placed runners also products of this remarkable stallion. The mile and a quarter contest had received a significant prize fund increase this year to £400,000 as part of a renewed UAE President Cup series, which was inaugurated in 1994. Envisioned by the UAE’s late founder, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The aim being to highlight the importance of purebred Arabian horses and to elevate their status while celebrating the heritage of the Emirates on a global scale.
Wathnan Racing owned Lippo De Carrere wins the UAE President Cup UK Arabian Derby Group 1PA ridden by Mickael Barzalona for Alban de Mieulle
©Debbie Burt Equine Creative Media
Starting the race was Ryan Colley, whose career was given an added boost by Arabian racing when he was given an eight-week International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) scholarship, (supported by His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed) when he was mentored at the North American Racing Academy. He then started his first full meeting of Arabian racing with ARO at Chelmsford City in 2016.
Mickael Barzalona, Jockey, 1st: “He travelled very well all the way round, behind the second [Moneer], then when I asked him to go forward he relaxed very easily in front. He’s a very, very nice prospect, he just needs to keep learning, and he’ll be one of the best ones soon.
“He was fine with the ground, and he will keep improving, if he keeps going in the right way he will be very interesting in the future.”
©Debbie Burt Equine Creative Media
Alban de Mieulle, trainer, 1st: “It was a well-deserved victory, as they say! Lippo de Carrere was very well ridden by Mickaël Barzalona, who knows him very well now. Everything went smoothly. He’s a colt with a bit of character but he has plenty of ability. He will improve a lot from this. In the four-year-old Derby at Chantilly, there wasn’t much between them in the race, and it’s satisfying to win today because he shows he’s of the calibre of good horses. It’s very encouraging. Now, he will head to Qatar and run in the four-year-old Derby.”
HE Faisal Al Rahmani, Event Manager for the UAE President Cup: “We are delighted for the winners of the race today. I’m very pleased with the way the series is going, we started with just six races and now there are 17 around the world. The directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed lead our race agenda to the highest level of global success. The British stage represents the pinnacle of four-year-old racing and reflects the fruitful partnership of this extraordinary event.”
©Debbie Burt Equine Creative Media
Genny Haynes, ARO Chief Executive Officer said, “As we have seen many times before, the French Arabian Derby form is always a significant pointer to success at Doncaster and it gave us another highly competitive contest today. We congratulate Wathnan Racing on their win and second place and we look forward to following their careers this season and beyond. The winner of this race invariably goes on to further Group success, upholding the importance of this contest to the Arabian breed.
“We thank the UAE President Cup for their continued support of our racing and for the very significant increase in prize money.”
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