Alkass Digital
Al Ghariya Cup day will open Qatar’s busy horse racing season at Al Rayyan Racecourse on Wednesday as the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) yesterday announced the programme for the 2022-23 calendar.
The season will include race meetings at the Al Rayyan and Al Uqda Racecourses and will conclude with the End Of Season Cup meeting on April 24 2023.
The programme includes 52 race days at Al Rayyan Racecourse and 17 at Al Uqda, making a total of 69 days to be run on both turf and sand over six months and 12 days.
Races at Al Uqda will start on November 19 with the Umm Swayya Cup Day and the last race meeting in the season there will be the Local Thoroughbred Trophy Day on February 24.
The 2022/23 official racing programme sees a rise in the number of races with 548 races compared to 533 last season. This increase accommodated more races for local Purebred Arabians.
Commenting on the new season, QREC Chairman Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi said: “The announcement of the official racing season programme came after reaching the optimal form of the programme in line with the nature of the races and the quality of the horses. The programme is aimed to enhance the standard of racing, maintain the continuous progress and ensure that horses reach their top standard throughout the season, especially as some of these horses will face challenges in races outside Qatar as well.”
“The Social & Sport Contribution Fund (Daam) will be the supporting partner of QREC in the 2022/23 racing and show season. It is in fact an extended partnership over the years and it has been a very useful form of cooperation in the activities organised by QREC both in Qatar and overseas,” he added.
“Longines will also continue their role as the official timekeeper of Al Rayyan Racecourse. They have always been with us for many years now in what can by simply summed up as a win-win relationship. The continued presence of Daam and Longines, as well as the others sponsors, will add to the success and progress of our season and racing in general,” the QREC Chairman said.
HH The Amir Sword Festival from Feb 16 to 18
Regarding the most important racing events on the calendar, Al Mohannadi said: “HH The Amir Sword Festival is the season’s most important event. The annual Festival will be held as usual at Al Rayyan Racecourse in February. Over three days, from February 16 to 18, 2023, the Festival will feature a large number of valuable titles and trophies. The final day will see the prestigious Gr1 PA HH The Amir Sword Race for Purebred Arabians. 30 minutes earlier, Thoroughbreds will contest for the Gr1 QA HH The Amir Trophy presented by Longines. The two iconic events represent the glory that every owner, trainer and jockey aspires to every year. Both races are run over 2,400m and each has $1,000,000 on offer.”
The racing programme also includes other top-quality race meetings as well. These include the Late Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani Trophy and the National Day Trophy on December 16. Thirteen days later, the Qatar International Derby will take place. January 5 will be the date of the HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy Day and January 21 will be for HE Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani Rifle Day.
HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy Day will be held on March 16. The last of the big days in the coming season will be the Qatar Gold Sword and Trophy Day on April 6.