Muscat: Emirati lady jockey Anoud Al Suwaidi made her much-anticipated debut aboard the Purebred Arabian Scyphios in the opening race of the 2014 HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship at Al Flaij Racecourse in Oman on Friday.
Twenty-one year-old Al Suwaidi is coached by former Swedish champion Anna Sofia who was pleased with her performance, although she could only finish in eighth place and said: “That’s great. We are looking forward to seeing the young Emarati girl improving very fast in her next attempt.
“What mattered at this stage was to see Anoud pass her first test in the build-up for future challenges.
“She proved to be confident, brave and concentrated. We didn’t expect her to win and we never said she would,” added Sofia.
The race was attended by Khalid Bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UAE ambassador to Oman Abdul Redha Abdullah Khouri, Lara Sawaya, director of the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Racing Festival and chairman of the Ladies Racing Committee in IFAHR, sports officials, dignitaries and a large crowd of racing enthusiasts.
“It’s a pleasure to be here,” said the UAE ambassador. “I’m truly delighted to see a UAE lady taking part in this important championship thanks to the bright vision of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, to promote Arabian horse worldwide and also the great initiative of Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Mother of the UAE, to support the UAE women.”
The UAE diplomat said he was pleased with the attitude Anoud showed in her first appearance on the race track and said she will definitely improve on her debut form.
Al Suwaidi become only the second Emirati female jockey to ride in the race series after Sathra Al Hajjaj, who rode in 2012 and 2013.
She will participate in all the races in the series except the race on snow at St Moritz, which is only for professional female jockeys.
“The Swiss race will have new rules mainly to uphold the safety of the jockeys while riding in snow. Only professional jockeys with five wins will be allowed to participate and they will have to maintain a weight of 58 kilograms,” said Lara Sawaya.
This year’s Ladies World Championship series will have 14 races and the finals will be held in Abu Dhabi on November 9.
