Distance for Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown for Purebred Arabians increased

The Dh5 million Group 1 race will now be run over 2,200m at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club

Mashhur Al Khalediah, winner of the 2019 Dh5 million Group 1 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown race at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club. Victor Besa / The National 

The Dh5 million Group 1 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown for Purebred Arabians will now be run over a new distance of 2,200 metres, organisers have announced.

The increase from the previous distance of 1,600m is in line with the directives of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, who is also chairman of the Emirates Racing Authority (ERA).

The organising committee of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival stated said the decision to increase the distance was made after consultation with both the ERA and the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities.

The Jewel Crown this year marks the 12th anniversary of the finale of the Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club on December 4.

The Festival was launched in 2009 in Europe with the finale in Abu Dhabi, has now grown into one of the world’s richest and most prestigious racing events, attracting some of the best local and international Arabian racehorses, trainers, jockeys and owners.

Mashhur Al Khalediah, trained by Paul Collington in the UK and ridden by Frenchman Jean-Bernard Eyquem for Saudi Arabia’s Athbah Stables, won the Jewel Crown in Abu Dhabi last year.