The UAE-sponsored Arabian racing series has added an unofficial event to its schedule at the Newmarket Racecourse in England. The Group 2 Abu Dhabi Championship for purebred Arabians will be run over 2,000 metres at Newmarket, which will also host an official race in the President of the UAE Cup series later this month. The series is sponsored by the Emirates Equestrian Federation and includes races at some of the world's leading tracks. In addition to the stops at Newmarket, races will be held later this year at Ascot in England and at Keeneland in the United States.
On Sunday, the series stopped in Moscow, where Pyse captured the Group 1 Moscow Derby. Pyse, trained by Olga Samokhina and ridden by Nirubic Kapushev, won by eight lengths and picked up the winner's cheque of 345,000 rubles (Dh40,000). Bagrein ran second and Patrick was third in the field of eight Arabians. The races were attended by several UAE representatives, including Ali Yousef Obaid al Nuaimi and Abdul Rahman al Mazmi from the UAE Embassy in Moscow, and Taleb al Muhairi, the secretary general of the Emirates Equestrian Federation.
"Moscow has always provided a comfort zone for the Arabian races and it is a pleasure to return to the Russian soil," al Muhairi said. "[We] are immensely pleased with the support extended by the Moscow racing officials." Arabian horses have been racing in Moscow for 15 years, and the President of the UAE Cup series has staged a race at the Moscow Hippodrome since 2005. sports@thenational.ae
