This Saturday, July 15, the Grand Prix Wathba Stallions Cup for Fillies II and For Colts II will be held, which are part of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Horse Racing Festival. It will be the first two races held over one mile on turf for 3-year-old and older that will feature 12 animals.
WTC for Colts II is the second stage and WTC for Fillies II is the first stage of the 2023 Arabian Horse Triple Crown and are the best performing and rating Arabian horses in Latin America.
The second race on Saturday, the Grand Prix Wathba Stallions Cup II will feature six champion animals that together add up to 30 victories. For the third time two champion sons of Mared Al Sahra, Clapton AJR and VG Raj Al Mared, will compete against each other and emerge as favourites.
VG Raj Al Mared and his half-brother Clapton AJR have both won 11 races in which they have entered. Haras Bluegrass’s five-year-old stallion VG Raj Al Mared, trained by Thiago Haidar, won by ½ length in the last race they competed in on June 24, when he took his sixth victory.
Official partner of VG Raj Al Mared (Mared Al Sahra x Daughter of Just HVP by *FA El Shawan), the jockey twice champion of the statistics of the Jockey Club of São Paulo and the first woman to win the São Paulo Grand Prix, the main race of the state of São Paulo, Jeane Alves will try to win the duo’s seventh victory and second victory in the Grand Prix Wathba Stallions Cup for Colts II, since they won the first on May 13 with two lengths of advantage over Clapton AJR.
Clapton AJR (left) and VG Raj Al Mared
“Once again we will have two races that will be hotly contested. There are six horses that together add up to 30 victories, some of them being record holders at various distances in Cidade Jardim. As much as our expectations are the best, we never know what can happen. Races are races and horses are horses. We are very hopeful and, above all, looking for our seventh victory”, declared José Caio Vaz Guimarães from Haras Bluegrass.
First to compete in Arabian races in São Paulo, the five-year-old stallion Clapton AJR demonstrated that he inherited all the potential of his father, Mared Al Sahra, and has brilliantly won five races out of the seven in which he competed, among them being the Grand Prix Paulo Jamil Saliba champion on May 27th, first race of the 2023 Arabian Horse Triple Crown.
In the last race, on June 24, held over 1,500 meters on turf, Clapton AJR finished second by ½ length to his half brother VG Raj Al Mared and expectations are that as the distances increase he will be able to show all your potential.
Clapton AJR breeder and owner, Almir José Ribeiro said: “As a breeder and director of Arabian racing in Brazil, I am proud to have achieved a Triple Crown for Arabian horses for the first time and even more so to have a horse of mine as a candidate for the title, as Clapton AJR won the first race and has proven to be one of the potential winners alongside his half-brother VG Raj Al Mared and the Rach Stud horses who are always extremely competitive. Good luck to everyone and it will certainly be another unforgettable weekend.”
The Rach Stud Agropecuária Ltda. is the breeder with three animals in the race and Lucas Quintana the trainer. Highlight for Mahatma Rach (*Sarmata x Magic All Rach by Ulisses Rach) who competes for the last time. With six wins, being a two-time champion of the Wathba Stallions Cup for Colts (2021 and 2022) and who says goodbye to racing and will pursue a career in Endurance Equestre.
At the age of five, Obstinado Rach (Atentaddo VE x Obsession Rach by Voltaire Rach) has won five times, one of them with Jorge Ricardo, the jockey who holds the world record for winning races; and will have Ruberlei Viana as a jockey.
Versado Rach (Atentaddo VE x Vertente Rach by Vaillant Rach), owned by Stud Velho Quiprocó is trained by Alexandre Garcia and will be led by Osmar Pereira Filho.
Winner of the Wathba Stallions Cup for Colts in May 2022, RG El Bak (RG Karat x *Endora by Wojslaw) has four wins under his belt. Bred owned by Cláudio R. G. Ribas and trained by Estanislau Petrochinski, he will be ridden by Idevaldo Silva.
The Grand Prix Wathba Stallions Cup for Fillies II, the first race on Saturday, will feature six of the best fillies of recent seasons including three champions.
Normandia Rach (*Uzbek Du Lion x Novella Rach by Voltaire Rach) emerges as the favorite and looking for her third consecutive victory, having been the champion of the Grand Prix Wathba Stallions Cup for Fillies I in May; in this race she will have as jockey Ruberlei Viana.
Normandia Rach. Photo Porfírio Menezes
With three wins Naizza Rach (Feitizzo Rach x La Nouba Endurance by *Saad Ibn Syed) is another candidate for the prize and will be ridden by Idevaldo Silva. Vivina Rach (Bismarck Rach x Vaneska Rach by Mister Eros HX) completes the Rach Stud roster and will also be looking for her first win. She will be driven by Jeffecleone Bispo and the three are trained by Lucas Quintana.
Bred and owned by Cláudio R. G. Ribas and trained by Estanislau Petrochinski, RG Kalifa (Cáceres CSM x Caldas CSM by Pavel Rach) has a win and will be ridden by Michael Silva and RG Era (RG Karat x RG Kasta by *Sarmata) will be ridden by Ricardo Nunes.
Gwan AJR returns to the tracks and is a strong competitor in the filly race. Owned by Almir José Ribeiro, trained by Cícero F. Silva and ridden by Rudinick Viana.
Ricardo Jamil Saliba of Rach Stud said: “At WTC for Fillies II the expectations are good because the three mares are doing very well and there is a balance between them, although Normandia Rach has won the last two races and with the distances increased, both Vivina and Naizza approached her. In addition to having three excellent mares that complete the race. In my opinion, it will be a very beautiful and competitive race.”
Almir José Ribeiro, Racing Director of the Arabian Horse Breeders Brazilian Association (ABCCA) said: “First of all, I want to thank the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Horse Racing Festival organization for their trust for another year of promotion, investment and dedication to promoting Arabian horse racing in Brazil.”
“Our deep and sincere thanks to HH Sh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Emirates Racing Authority for his visionary insight into the future of Arabian horse racing in the world and especially the dedication and affection that Lara Sawaya, Director of the Festival, has for Brazil and for Brazilian Arabian horse breeders.”
Once again, Rach Stud Agropecuária is the breeder with the most animals in addition to being the largest breeder with the most horses in all races held in Brazil since 2013.
In addition to the prizes during the races, all horses participating in the 2023 Race Calendar also compete in the Race category of the Arabian Cup 2023 promoted by the Arabian Horse Breeders Brazilian Association.
The Grande Prêmio Wathba Stallions Cup for Fillies I and Colts I are organized by the Arabian Horse Breeders Brazilian Association in partnership with the Jockey Club of São Paulo.
The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Horse Racing Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, with National Feed as strategic partner, The National Library & Archives as the official partner , MUBADALA as the official partner ,Emirates Airline as the official carrier, Etisalat as official sponsor & sponsored by Al Massood Automobiles Nissan, Areej Alameerat, Omeir Travels Agency, YAS Sports TV, Viola Communications, the UAE’s General Women’s Union , Emirates International Endurance Village, Emirates Arabian Horse Society & Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
GRANDE PRÊMIO WATHBA STALLIONS CUP FOR FILLIES II
1 VIVINA RACH (Bismarck Rach x Vaneska Rach by Mister Eros HX)
J: Jeffecleone Bispo
T: Lucas Quintana
O: Ricardo Jamil Saliba
B: Rach Stud Agropecuária Ltda.
2 NAIZZA RACH (Feitizzo Rach e La Nouba Endurance by *Saad Ibn Syed)
J: Idevaldo Silva
T: Lucas Quintana
O: Ricardo Jamil Saliba
B: Rach Stud Agropecuária Ltda.
3 RG ERA (RG Karat x RG Kasta by *Sarmata)
J: R Nunes
T: Estanislau Petrochinski
B/O: Claudio Roberto Guimarães Ribas
4 RG KALIFA (Cáceres CSM x Caldas CSM by Pavel Rach)
J: Michael Silva
T: Estanislau Petrochinski
B/O: Claudio Roberto Guimarães Ribas
5 NORMANDIA RACH (*Uzbek Du Lion x Novella Rach by Voltaire Rach)
J: Ruberlei Viana
T: Lucas Quintana
O: Agropecuária Ilha da Chapada Ltda.
B: Rach Stud Agropecuária Ltda.
6 GWAN AJR (All Pol Rach x Greece AJR by Second Chall)
J: Rudinick Viana
T: Cícero F. Silva
B/O: Almir José Ribeiro
GRANDE PRÊMIO WATHBA STALLIONS CUP FOR COLTS III
1 CLAPTON AJR (Mared Al Sahra x Cowboys Gal by Wiking)
J: Antonio Mesquita
T: Oberdan S. Pereira
B/O: Almir José Ribeiro
2 VG RAJ AL MARED (Mared Al Sahra x Daughter of Just HVP by *FA El Shawan)
J: Jeane Alves
T: Thiago Haidar
B/O: Haras Bluegrass / José Carlos Vaz Guimarães
3 RG EL BAK (RG Karat x *Endora by Wojslaw)
J: Idevaldo Silva
T: Estanislau Petrochinski
B/O: Claudio Roberto Guimarães Ribas
4 MAHATMA RACH (*Sarmata x Magic All Rach by Ulisses Rach)
J: Jeffecleone Bispo
T: Lucas Quintana
O: Ricardo Jamil Saliba
B: Rach Stud Agropecuária Ltda.
5 VERSADO RACH (Atentaddo VE x Vertente Rach by Vaillant Rach)
J: Osmar Pereira Filho
T: Alexandre Garcia
O: Stud Velho Quiproquo
B: Rach Stud Agropecuária Ltda.
6 OBSTINADO RACH (Atentaddo VE x Obsession Rach by Voltaire Rach)
J: Ruberlei Viana
T: Lucas Quintana
O: Agropecuária Ilha da Chapada Ltda.
B: Rach Stud Agropecuária Ltda.
