“Karim” champion of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council Cup in France

The horse “Karim” of the Royal Cavalry of Oman, under the supervision of trainer Elizabeth Bernard, and led by Michael Forrest, confirmed his good candidacy with a well-deserved victory in the Abu Dhabi Sports Council Cup race, which was held today at the French Pau Racecourse under the patronage of the His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival.

The festival races are held in implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the UAE, Deputy Prime Minister, and Head of the Presidential Office, with the aim of supporting owners and breeders in most countries of the world, and motivating them to increase interest in Arabian horses.

Eight purebred Arabian horses, aged four years or older, competed in the race over a distance of 2,400 metres, with a prize of 18,000 euros. Karim had started from the fifth gate and remained in the back rows throughout the course of the race.

In the last elbow before the straight line, the horses competed strongly to seize the title, before “Karim” led by Michael Forrest pounced on the lead and was 1.25 lengths ahead of “Beti Atika” by Daniel Lakiev, supervised by Olivier Trigodet and driven by Julium Good Guy.

“Karim,” a four-year-old descendant of “Gasco de Cairo,” recorded a time of 2:46:50 minutes, while “Gavard de Progres” by Aoun Al-Aidaroos came in third place, under the supervision of coach Kye Belson, and driven by Hugo Musan.

The festival is supported and sponsored by the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the National Archives and Library, the main partner, Mubadala, the official partner, National Feed, the strategic partner, Emirates Airline, the official carrier, and Etisalat, the official partner.

It also sponsors Al Masoud Nissan, Areej Al Amirat, Omair Bin Youssef Travel, Yas Channel, the General Women’s Union, Viola Company, the Emirates Purebred Arabian Horse Association, the Emirates International Endurance Village, and the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.