Lightning Bolt wins Zayed Cup

Italian lady jockey Chaira Careddu riding Afja’an made a spectacular debut to her racing career when she was involved in a dead heat with Hungary’s Cintia Mayer on Jaahez in the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship race at the Duindigt racecourse in the Hague, the Netherlands, on Sunday.

In the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s premier ladies race series, the 21-year-old Careddu was making her debut as an amateur jockey and what a way to start in one of the most popular racing events for lady jockeys.

Both Carredu on Afja’an and the Hungarian Mayer on Jaahez ended the race with a thrilling finish and even the photo could not separate the two and both the lady jockeys have now qualified for the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship final to be held in Abu Dhabi in November.

If it was a double delight for the two young lady jockeys, Tadhg O’Shea also made it a memorable event as he notched up a double win in the Festival’s other two main races.

In the Festival’s feature race –– the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup –– O’Shea scored on Lightning Bolt –– the 7-year-old son of Munjiz –– a stallion that stands at Wathba Stallions owned by Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

It was celebration time again for trainer Karin van den Bos, owner Landgoed Waterland and O’Shea as Lightning Bolt, a smart winner here in 2018, once again proved his class.

Earlier O’Shea opened his account on the big racing day for Purebred Arabians here in Duindigt by winning the Wathba Stallions Cup on Mazyoonah –– owned by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and trained by James Owen.

The large number of Dutch fans also got their chance to cheer on as Jaicey Bosman from their country scored a smart win on Eldorado in the Sheikha Lateefa Bint Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan International Pony Championship race and qualified for the Abu Dhabi finals.

The UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Hessa Abdullah Al Otaiba, Ms. Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairperson of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairperson of Ladies and Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) and Margaret De Ruiter, Head of Dutch Arabian Horse Racing gave away the trophies.

The Sheikh Mansoor 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. LLC as associate sponsors.