Abu Dhabi: Paddys Day, winner of the 2015 Horse of the Year US Darley Award, has once again been nominated for that category as well as for Best Older Horse in the 2016 US Darley Awards, which is sponsored and supported by the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
The Arabian Racing Cup announced the nominees for the coveted USA Darley Awards. These nominees were selected by Cup Stewards as the best of Arabian Racing in the US for the year 2016. Beginning next week, the Darley Voting Academy will review detailed statistics and performance data from the Arabian Jockey Club about these nominees and cast their votes via confidential ballots.
The nominees
Horse of the Year Nominees: Paddys Day, RB Madymoiselle, Thess Is Awesome; 3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Nominees: Quick Sand AA, RB Nash, RB Open Fire; 3-Year-Old Filly Nominees: Burning Charm, RB Kinkie, Rubie AA; 4-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Nominees: Easter Man, Jess Is On Fire, Uptown Dannys Boy; 4-Year-Old Filly Nominees: Lady Haha, Jewell AA, Pams Masquerade, RB Madymoiselle;
Older Horse Nominees: Paddys Day, Sand Victor, Tess Is Awesome;
Older Mare Nominees: Dream Pearl, Hesster, Royal Richess;
Breeder Nominees: Gillis, Betty J and Joseph A, Kirshner, Alan or Milhaloff Deborah, Waldron, Dianne K;
Owner Nominees: Cre Run Enterprises LLC, Gillis, Betty J and Joseph A, Rosebrook Farms, LLC; Trainer Nominees: Ashby, Lynn, Powell, Scott, Torrez, Jerenesto; Jockey Nominees: Chiappe, Ricardo, Coa, Keiber, Wales, Travis.
The winners will be crowned Darley Champions of 2016 at the 30th Annual Darley Awards March 31 through April 2, 2017, in Hollywood, California. The glittering ceremony and gala weekend is sponsored by the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival.
Giving details of the three-day event, Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival said, “The HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival-supported Darley Awards will be presented on March 31 at the Dolby Theater in Highland Center. On the same night the prestigious HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak International Awards will also be awarded to top lady achievers in various fields flat-racing and endurance sport.”
“On April 1 the focus will shift to Santa Anita Race Course and the $100,000 (Dh367,310) HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Award Stakes (Gr. 1 PA). On Sunday evening, April 2, the Celebration Banquet and annual stallion breeding auction will be held at the host hotel, the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel,” Ms Sawaya said.
“We are excited and looking forward to the event, and we thank the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival for supporting the Darley Awards since 2012. Founded in 1983 by Dr Sam Harrison, the Arabian Racing Cup’s Darley Awards ceremony is the showcase of US-Arabian racing. The Darleys are headlined by the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards, recognising international women in Arabian Horse Racing,” said Michelle Morgan, Chief Steward of the Arabian Racing Cup.
