Some of the top horses of the world would be seen in action during this year’s prestigious HH The Amir Sword Festival which has attracted 24 international entries.
This was informed by Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) Chairman Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi during an agreement-signing ceremony held at QREC’s grand and renovated old clubhouse yesterday.
The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club signed agreements with Zoom Events & Production, Qommunication, and The Social & Sport Contribution Fund (Daam) in the run-up to the prestigious HH The Amir Sword Festival to be run over three days at the Al Rayyan Racecourse from February 16-18.
QREC’s sponsors for this year’s HH The Amir Sword Festival include: Al Emadi Enterprises/Al Hazm: Sponsor of the festival and the HH The Amir Sword Race; Daam: Supporting Partner of all racing events and shows organised by QREC; Longines: Official timekeeper of Al Rayyan Racecourse and sponsor of the HH The Amir Trophy Race; QNB: Sponsor of the HH The Amir Silver Sword Race; Qatar Airways: Official Carrier of the festival; Event management: Zoom; PR: QCommunication.
This year’s HH The Amir Sword Festival is much bigger both in terms of races, participation of international entries and its prize money.
The QREC has already announced a huge increase in the total prize money by more than the double to nearly $10mn - the highest-ever in the history of the festival.
Providing more details, al-Mohannadi said: “This year’s festival is going to be unique because of a number of reasons. First of all, the prize money has been doubled. Now $10mn for the festival in prize money itself shows how it is becoming now one of the major festivals in the region.”
He said: “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 well-known countries known for their racing capabilities. These include the UK, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
“Horses from Godolphin, for example, would be coming to participate. There are other also other very strong level of horses and Group one listed horses coming to join us at this year’s festival. Some top trainers also coming to join us. So the technical side of this festival has already gained a lot of momentum and it is already reaching a good level that we’re happy with.”
Al-Mohannadi also stressed that HH The Amir Sword Festival 2023 will also see a lot of entertainment activities on the sidelines on all three days.
“The associated activities that will come with this year’s races are also unique for this festival. We have for the first time a museum that will tell you the story about the horseracing history in Qatar,” he said.
“We will also have a number of activities for the kids and families that we normally do, but this year will be much more and much elevated. So overall, this will be a unique festival and we look to attract many people and many visitors from Qatar and the region.”
The QREC chairman said the racing standards in Qatar have always been high but now top horses are coming to participate is what makes the competition all the more engaging.
“We have always been highly regarded internationally but the difference now is that we have been able to attract big names and that’s what makes this festival unique compared to previous festivals. Now this year’s festival has started to attract attention and bring international names, which is good for us,” he said.
HH The Amir Sword Festival 2023 will start on February 16 (Thursday) with the Sand Championships Day - QREC’s 32nd Race Meeting in the current season’s calendar.
The meeting will involve eight races and each will have a purse of $100,000.
On the following day, the Al Zubara Trophy Day will have a nine-race card with a purse of $100,000 for the first seven races and $200,000 for each of the last two races of the day.
The third day and finale of the festival will see the most prestigious and valuable races and, for the first time in QREC’s history, with total prize-money of over $8mn.
The day will feature nice 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 $2.5mn on offer respectively.