Arabians saddle up in Paris

One of the highlights of the 2010 Arabian flat racing calender will be staged in France on Sunday with the second instalment of the President of the UAE Cup series. The 2,000m race in Paris on Grand Prix de Saint Cloud Day features 11 of the top-rated Arabian horses in the world.

"This race will mark our 16th Arabian race in France, and we are again looking forward to the enthusiasm and support of the Paris crowd," Taleb al Muhairi, the general secretary of the Emirates Equestrian Federation, said. "In fact, France hosted the first-ever President of the UAE Cup race when the series was launched in 1994." The runners include Raqiyah, the favourite at the Abu Dhabi Irish Guineas Festival in May, where the French-trained mare finished in second place; Cambrydge, another French-trained horse who has been in the top three in all three of his starts this season; and Nashwan Al Khalidiah, a winner of six races in his 14 starts over a three-year career.

Also taking part are Al Faith, a seven-year-old with career earnings of almost ?150,000 (Dh678,000), Jalab Al Khalidiah, a gelding with four wins from nine starts over a three-year career and total prize money earnings of ?950,000 and Banjo Du Loup, a German-trained gelding with eight top-three finishes in 15 starts. The President of the UAE Cup series was established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to promote and celebrate the Arabian horse globally. It is the original international purebred Arabian horse race series and is considered the premier racing series for the breed.

Saint Cloud, a grass course on the western side of Paris, hosts a number of important meetings including the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud, which is one of the trials for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and the Criterium de Saint Cloud in November . The first race of this year's President of the UAE Cup series was run at the Abu Dhabi Irish Guineas Festival at the Curragh in May, and after Paris the third instalment will be staged at the Moscow Hippodrome in Russia.

The series also includes races in Newmarket and Ascot in the UK, and at Keeneland in the US. * Agency