Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Hello Bahrain. Well, another week of racing news, fantastic. This weekend I headed down to the horse racing track at Sakhir for a day out at the races. What a fantastic atmosphere with adults and children cheering on their favourite horse or jockey.
Horse racing is an equestrian sport enjoyed all over the world, beginning centuries ago with the chariot races of the Romans. Today, it is commonly referred to as flat racing (not to be confused with steeplechases and the like, as mentioned in my article last week) with no obstacles on the track, therefore concentrating significantly on the speed and stamina of a horse.
The majority of flat races are run by thoroughbreds, a breed of horse specifically bred for racing. The thoroughbred is 'hot-blooded' meaning they are sensitive and energetic as opposed to the 'cold-blooded' breed such as draft breeds that tend to be much calmer.
All thoroughbred horses can trace their pedigree to three stallions imported to the United Kingdom during the late 1600s and early 1700s. The stallions were imported from the Middle East and each have an interesting story. One of the stallions, Byerley Turk, was allegedly captured by a captain named Byerly at the Battle of Buda, the second is Darley Arabia imported from Syria and kept at private stud until his death. It is believed that 95 per cent of modern day thoroughbreds can trace their lineage back to this stallion.
The third stallion was named Godolphin Arabian and there is a little controversy as to his origin. However, it is believed that he was imported from Arabia firstly to France and then to the UK where he too remained at stud until his death.
Often the thoroughbred is cross-bred with other breeds to create a new one or improve existing ones. One such example is the Anglo Arabian that we see a lot of here in the Middle East. In order to qualify as an Anglo Arab the breed must have a minimum of 12.5 per cent Arabian blood.
The Friday races usually have six classes, displaying locally bred and imported breeds. If you have never been down for an afternoon visit it is certainly something to go and see. Position yourself next to the track railing, ensuring a perfect view of the jockeys and mounts as they come thundering past you. The ground shakes and the crowd swells with excitement as the group approach the finish line, each vying for that extra lead to push them into first place. Brilliant!
While all the races were exciting to watch, the grand finale, the Shaikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Cup was probably the most anticipated race of the afternoon. A winning purse of BD3,200, it was a race that saw 15 jockeys and mounts race a distance of 1,600m for the winner's ribbon. As always there can only be one winner and this week it was Sanabel that crossed the finish line first.
Just before I leave you for another week, you will be pleased to know that there are more equestrian events this weekend, with the BRREF show jumping taking place on Friday. The event begins at 8.30am and will see both juniors and adults compete on the same day. I hope to see you there for what I'm sure will be an exciting day.
Finally, as we approach the end of the competitive riding season to make way for summer temperatures (although, if the weather continues as it has, we may be able to stretch out the season a little longer) we see the end of season Twin Palms Dressage League on April 24 at Twin Palms, beginning at 9am. The event is sponsored by City Neon, Bahrain and promises to be another fantastic event.
