Alkass Digital
The prestigious HH The Amir Sword Festival – one of the eagerly-awaited events on Qatar’s sports calendar – will get bigger and will be more exciting than ever.
With Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) announcing an increased prize money of $10m - the highest-ever in the history of the festival – the popular event set to take place from February 16 to 18 has attracted world’s best horses and trainers from countries known for their racing prowess.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, QREC Chairman Issa bin Mohamed Al Mohannadi said arrangements are in full swing as QREC sets sights on hosting an unprecedented edition of the HH The Amir Sword Festival.
“This Festival is going to be a unique one because of a number of reasons. First of all, the prize money of this one has been doubled. With [total] prize money of $10 million, the Festival will become one of the major festivals in the region,” Al Mohannadi told reporters at QREC Clubhouse.
QREC Acting CEO Bader Al Darwish and QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi were also present.
The opening day of the Festival will involve eight races and each contest will have a purse of $100,000. On the following day – the Al Zubarah Trophy Day – will have a ten-race card with a purse of $100,000 for the first seven races and $200,000 for the next two races besides $400,000 for the last race of the day.“The prize money has attracted many international runners. There are 24 horses coming from outside Qatar. This is a remarkable and unique number that we haven’t reached before. We have a number of horses coming from countries known for their racing capabilities. These include the UK, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates,” said the QREC Chairman.
“Godolphin, for example, is one of the unique and big names that are coming to participate. There are other [entries] also, who have very strong level. Group one listed horses are coming to join us in this Festival, which will also see top trainers."
"So the technical side of the event has already gained a lot of momentum and it is already reaching a good level that we’re happy with,” he added. The third and the final day of the Festival will see the most prestigious and valuable races and, for the first time in QREC history, with total prize-money of over $8m. The day will feature nine races, including three with a purse of $500,000 each and four with a purse of $400,000 each.
The huge increase in prize-money will be in the day’s feature – the HH The Amir Sword (Gr1 PA) – and the penultimate race of the meeting – the HH The Amir Trophy (Gr1 QA) – as each of them will have $2.5m on offer respectively.
Al Mohannadi said apart from the thrilling races, spectators can be entertained with many activities to be held on sidelines of the Festival.
“We have for the first time a museum that will give the story about the racing history of Qatar. We will also have many contests and a number of activities for the kids and families that we normally do, but this year such activities and contests will be much, much elevated. So overall, this will be a unique festival that we look to attract many people and many visitors from Qatar and the region,” he said.
The QREC Chairman also thanked sponsors, appreciating their support in success of the mega Festival.
Al Emadi Enterprises and Al Hazm will be the sponsors of the Festival and the HH The Amir Sword Race, while Daam are the supporting partner of all racing events and shows to be organised by the QREC.
Longines, who are the Official timekeeper of Al Rayyan Racecourse, are sponsors of the HH The Amir Trophy Race while QNB will be the Sponsors of the HH The Amir Silver Sword Race.
Qatar Airways are the Official Carrier of the Festival, while QCommunications and Zoom are the other sponsors.