His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, deputised the Commander of the National Guard Lieutenant General Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa to attend the festival of HM the King’s Horse Riding Cup, organised by the Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club in Sukhair.
On the sidelines of the event, attended by a number of Ruling Family members, ministers, senior state officials, diplomatic corps and a large audience of citizens and expatriates, a family festival, containing various entertaining functions, was held.
The event comprised four races: the 1st race was held on HM the King’s cup for first Class Arabian Horses, registered with Wahoo for a distance of 1200 metres, and for ward of BD5000.
The winners were riders Hussain Makki, from Al-Rawdha stable, Andrew Plewitt, from the Riffaa stable, Mohammed Said, from Al-Rawdha stable, and Ali Al-Saffar, from Al-Wasmiya stable.
The second race was held on the Charter (Mithaaq) Cup for first Class imported horses for a distance of 1600 metres and for a reward of BD2000.
Jockeys Alberto Sana, Hussain Makki, Patrick and Brett Doyle were the winners.
The fourth race was held on Bahrain Gold Cup for first Class imported horses for a distance of 2400 meters and for a reward of BD7200.
Knights Bret Doyle, Saleem Ghulam, Bret Doyle and Hassan Al-Saffar clinched the first four positions.
Concerning the fourth race, held on HM the King Cup for First Class horses, local Breed for a distance of 2400 meters, and for an award of BD10000, the winning riders were Bret Doyle, Alberto Sana, George Bakel and Andrew Eliott.
At the end of the races, Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa presented the trophy of HM the King’s Cup for Arabian Horses to trainer Fawzi Abdulla Nass and the trophy of Al-Meethaq Cup to owner Ibrahim Al-Afoo.
Then, Head of the Office of Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented the trophy of the Bahrain Gold Cup to trainer Alain Smith.
Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa also crowned trainer Alain Smith with the trophy of HM the King’s Cup for Local Breed Horses.
After that, Director-General of the Rashid Equestrian and Horse-Racing Club Tawfik Al-Alawi presented the Commander of the National Guard Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa with a commemorative gift.