The Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) was thrilled with the declarations for the Royal Cavalry of Oman Clarendon Stakes (Gr 3 PA) to be run at Newbury racecourse on Saturday 17th August. The opening race of the Madness Live After Racing card at Newbury features two of the last three winners in Macallan and Kao Kat MHF, as well as Shomoos Athbah who has been runner-up for the last two seasons. Also in the line-up is Conchita DA, an impressive winner of the Group 1PA Jebel Ali Za’abeel International Stakes over a furlong further, also held at Newbury as part of Dubai International Arabian Races (DIAR) last month. The following day the action transfers to Wolverhampton racecourse for the annual Sultanate of Oman Family Raceday. Fifty-five runners have been declared for the six-race card, with the first race starting at 1.00pm.
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Conchita DA (Anna Van Den Troost) winning the Jebel Ali Racecourse Za’abeel International Stakes Gr 1PA return to Newbury on Saturday.
Genny Haynes, ARO Commercial and Finance Director commented: “We are delighted that the opening contest of what will be a very popular day at Newbury has attracted 10 horses, three of which are international runners from Belgium and Sweden. As with thoroughbreds, the Arabian sprinters turn up year after year and always produce a great race for the crowd. The declaration of Belgium’s Conchita DA, who appears to be a very progressive young filly, adds further excitement to the race and helps confirm ARO’s commitment to hosting competitive international racing.”
She continued: “The Clarendon Stakes, the most valuable of all the Royal Cavalry’s race sponsorship with us, leads us into the annual Sultanate of Oman Family Raceday at Wolverhampton the following day. This marks a significant milestone in ARO’s history as it will be first time outside of the DIAR meeting that we have had professional jockeys riding alongside amateurs at an ARO full fixture. We are proud that our three most recent champions, Simon Walker, David Turner and Will Pettis will be riding against multiple Champion UAE jockey Tadhg O’Shea, who has a vast experience of riding the top Arabian racehorses in the Gulf states. It also offers the opportunity for our younger jockeys, such as Antonia Peck and Alex Chadwick to progress their experience and establish themselves on the amateur circuit.”
Highlighting Sunday’s feature race she said: “The last race in particular, the Khasab Beach (0-100) Handicap, has a attracted a really strong field of 10 horses who are just below PA Group level and it looks very competitive. This will be a marvellous way to conclude the Royal Cavalry’s very generous race sponsorship with ARO during the 2019 season and we look forward to welcoming them back in 2020.”
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Continuing their support for the stable staff, Racing Welfare will be sponsoring the Best Turned Out Award for the first two races on the Sultanate of Oman Family Raceday with a cash prize of £20 and a Racing Welfare gilet to the winning groom.