Raqiyah (Amer x Sarahmina by Tornado de Syrah) owned by Umm Qarn Farms, won the President of the UAE Cup at Saint-Cloud, France June 30, and $30,750

The French divisions of the Group 1 President of the UAE Cup belong to Raqiyah (Amer x Sarahmina by Tornado de Syrah) — no matter where the race is run.
In 2009, the then three-year-old filly won the Group 1 President of the UAE Cup over about a mile on turf at Chantilly, France. On June 30, she won 25,000 euros, or $30,750, in the same race against a field of older horses at Saint-Cloud, but this time faced a tougher field.
Owned by Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Umm Qarn Farms and trained by Alban de Mieulle, Raqiyah won the Saint-Cloud race over about 1 1/4 miles on turf by a length over the five-year-old Nayef Al Khalidiah (Calin du Loup x RW Country Doll by Djendel). Damis (Amer x Kachia by Djelfor) finished third. Damis, a five-year-old, is also owned by Umm Qarn Farms and trained by de Mieulle.
Raqiyah was timed in 2:13.90 and was ridden by the well-known international jockey Olivier Peslier. The race was worth 50,000 euros, or approximately $61,500.
Damis was followed by Al Fatih, Cambrydge, Simmbad, Al Seif, and Banjo du Loup in the field of eight. All of the runners were bred in Britain, France, or Saudi Arabia.
Umm Qarn is having an outstanding year. In the winter, Umm Qarn’s Al Dahma (Amer x Al Hanoof by Manganate) won the Qatar International Trophy and the Emir’s Sword in Qatar. The eight-year-old mare is widely considered one of the world’s finest Arabian racehorses of recent years. Raqiyah was second to Al Dahma in the Emir’s Sword.
Nayef Al Khalidiah, who races for Al Khalediah Stables and trainer Jean François Bernard, won two Group 1 races last year — the Prix Kesberoy in France and the U.K. Arabian Derby at Ascot, which was part of the 2009 President of the UAE Cup series. Last fall, Nayef Al Khalidiah was fourth, behind General, in the Qatar Arabian World Cup, at Longchamp on the same program as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s most prestigious Thoroughbred race.
Raqiyah has already raced in three countries this year. Before the Emir’s Sword, she won the Al Ruwais Cup in Qatar on March 11. She was then shipped to Europe where she finished second to Nokomys (Amer x KTP Mystic Flight by *Wiking) in the $37,730 President of the UAE Cup series race at The Curragh in Ireland on May 23.
Last winter, Raqiyah won the Qatar Derby, which had a purse of approximately $70,000.
The Saint-Cloud race was part of an agreement between the French Arabian Horse Racing Association (AFAC) and France-Galop, which administers racing in France, with the Emirates Equestrian Federation for a one-year sponsorship. The Emirates Equestrian Federation also sponsored a Thoroughbred race at Saint-Cloud on June 27.
The President of the UAE Cup is a yearlong series of races, which includes a race at Ascot, England, on the same program as the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in July and a newly formed race at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 9. The Keeneland race is expected to feature the top Arabian-bred horses in the United States, and possibly a few invaders from other parts of the world.