Doha, 7 July 2021 - The Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club (QREC)-sponsored Qatar Goodwood Festival will be held from July 27 to 31 at Goodwood Racecourse in England.
The festival is considered one of the most prominent events of the horse racing season in the world, especially after Qatar's sponsorship extended from 2015 until 2024.
The Qatar International Stakes (Gr1 PA) is one of the festival's most important events. The 400,000 pounds contest is the most valuable race in UK Arabian racing and the most valuable over that distance for Arabians in Europe.
21 horses will take part in the Qatar International Stakes (Gr1 PA), including HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al-Thani's EBRAZ, who has won the last two runnings, could face HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al-Thani's TAYF, who beat him in 2017, but added into the mix and new to Goodwood, are the progressive young mares HE Sheikha Yasmeen Bint Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al-Thani's MON'NIA and Khalifa Bin Sheail Al Kuwari's LADY PRINCESS. They could be joined by DERYAN and BEL'IZAM.
Horses returning after a break include the leading juvenile colt of 2019 HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al-Thani's AMYR DU SOLEIL, and DURAT AL ZAMAN, whilst completing the overseas challenge is the lightly raced filly the Al Shaqab Racing and Nada Mousalli-owned RYME AL CHAM. The domestic challengers include eight from the UK's top ten horses, headed by AL KAASER and LOOLWA.
QREC Chairman Issa Bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi said: "We are proud of our sponsorship of the Qatar International Stakes as one of our most valuable races and part of our commitment to promote Arabian racing. We are very pleased to see this race, once again, attracting some of the world's top Arabians and promising to be a fabulous addition to the Qatar Goodwood Festival. I'm sure fans of all forms of racing will be fascinated by the spectacle of the Arabian horses at Goodwood. QREC would like to thank ARO and Goodwood for the excellent coordination and cooperation."
Arabian Racing Organization (ARO) Commercial and Finance Director Genny Haynes said: "The Qatar International Stakes never disappoints in terms of the quality of horses it attracts, as you would expect with the very generous prize money on offer. It is very pleasing to see EBRAZ and TAYF amongst the entries, as their rivalry over the last five years has really caught the wider racing public's imagination. We're also pleased to see plenty of domestic entries, the opportunities to try our horses at the highest level both here and internationally have been limited because of Covid and we hope that some of them prove that they can progress further."
