Abu Dhabi: The HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival will stage two flagship Purebred Arabian races at Saturday’s Derby trial meeting at Lingfield Park racecourse in the United Kingdom.

Kick-starting the day will be the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR), a premier handicap for UK-trained horses and international women jockeys, followed by the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, a Group 1 PA race for top quality international horses.

Ten line up in the IFAHR race. Last year’s winner of the Morocco leg, Korean Lee Keum-joo, will be on Noble Athlete, while Japan’s Aoi Kinomae will be on Man Of Dreams.

Gillian Duffield saddles Mazaaya under French jockey Pauline Boisgontier for owner Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, while Altesse Kossack, a winner of this race when run in Newbury, is also in the fray.

In the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race, Duffield saddles another three runners for Shaikh Hamdan. Al Hibab — a Group 1 winner in August last year at Newbury — will be under Tadhg O’Shea, while the four-year-old Mahabb filly Salaama will face a severe test after a winning debut in a Group 2 race last year. Duffield’s third runner is Radames.

The Damien de Watrigant-trained Ghazwa will be ridden by big-race jockey Olivier Peslier and, after a couple of spirited Group 1 runs finished off last year with a Group 3 win, will be making a determined effort on Saturday.

Dutch trainer Karin van den Bos has had so much success in the Festival that her runner Samima will garner a fair amount of support in this dirt contest over a mile, with a total prize fund of £70,000 (Dh391,493).

Andrew Perkins, Executive Director of Lingfield Park Resort, said the inclusion of the Arabian races would add to an action-packed day that features both Derby and Oaks trials.

“We are delighted to welcome this prestigious Festival to Lingfield Park and feel it sits very well with our Betfred Derby Trial day, which we have been proud to host for more than 80 years. This year we also have Derby legend jockey Lester Piggott joining us with the actual Oaks and Derby trophies, so it’s a real day for celebration,” Perkins said.

“The introduction of the Arabian horses is another example of how we continue to bring variety and entertainment to an already packed racing programme at one of Britain’s busiest racecourses.”

Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the Festival, Chairman of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), and Chairman of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR), said: “It is a moment of great pride for us to stage the Festival’s races during the Derby trials in Lingfield Park.

“Further, the quality of horses entered in the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup Group 1 race is sure to result in an exciting finish. The ladies’ championship race will also be a keenly contested affair and we hope the large number of fans enjoy Arabian racing.”