The Peninsula
The Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club (QREC) and Qatar Airways signed a three-year partnership agreement covering the most prestigious three racing events organised and/or sponsored by QREC every year.
These three top events are the H H The Amir Sword Festival in Doha, the Qatar Goodwood Festival in the United Kingdom and the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France.
The national carrier continues its sponsorship of three prestigious horseracing events, including the H H The Amir Sword Festival, which is the pinnacle of horseracing in Qatar and the region with a wide range of runners from Qatar and overseas competing every year.
The three-day mega event is renowned as an integrated racing festival, involving both pure Arabians and thoroughbreds. In addition, the Qatar Goodwood Festival and the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe are two of the highlights of the world’s flat-racing season.
The three-year agreement reflects the solid and strategic relations between QREC and Qatar Airways and their quest for enhancing their renewed collaboration. QREC aims to produce these events at the highest level, which maintains the standing of Qatar’s equestrian sports, while Qatar Airways continues its long tradition of supporting top sports events demonstrate excellence in sport and bringing people together. Under the recently signed agreement, Qatar Airways will be the Official Carrier of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 renewals of the QREC-sponsored Qatar Goodwood Festival, which was held this year between 30 July and 3 Augsut, and Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The 2019 edition of the Qatar Goodwood Festival will be held at Goodwood racecourse, UK, between 30 July and 3 August. This year’s renewal of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe will be staged in its home at ParisLongchamp racecourse and its events will culminate with the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Qatar Arabian World Cup races on Sunday, 6 October.
Besides and according to the agreement, Qatar Airways will maintain its role as the Official Carrier of the HH The Amir Sword Festival in 2020 and 2021. The three-day mega event is the pinnacle of horseracing in Qatar and the region with a large scale of runners both from Qatar and overseas every year. It is renowned as an integrated racing festival, involving both pure Arabians and thoroughbreds.
Commenting on the agreement, QREC Chairman Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi said : “We are pleased to renew this partnership with a leader in air transport as Qatar Airways. We have already had remarkable experiences with Qatar Airways through our partnership, which was key to QREC’s sponsorship of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Salon du Cheval in Morocco last year.
“In addition, Qatar Airways will be playing a remarkable role in the HH The Amir Sword Festival, especially in terms of horse shipping, which helps facilitate the participation of horses from outside Qatar in the prestigious races run at the QREC Al-Rayyan Park every year.”
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive,. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is proud to renew its Partnership with the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club for a further three years. This partnership will enable Qatar Airways to continue to support some of the most significant global events on the horse racing calendar.
“Qatar Airways Cargo has a long history of providing world-class service when transporting horses around the world through our state-of-the-art live animal cargo terminal at Hamad International Airport. Through this partnership we are excited to continue showcasing our award winning products in both passenger and cargo services.”