AA Rich Whiskey brings in the trophy for Race 1 of the California Wathba Stallions Cup Race Series

AA Rich Whiskey ridden by Cristobal Herrera

WATCH THE RACE

The first of the three races in the series, run on Saturday, 10 July 2021, at the Pleasanton race track, saw six horses go to Post as favorite, Scorched, was a late scratch.  

While the heat index in the area hovered at 107degrees, AA Rich Whiskey under Cristobal Herrera was all business. He stalked leader Pockit Rockit around the first turn until catching fire on the way home as RB Hashtag challenged the lead but did not have quite enough room at the end. AA Rich Whiskey is by TH Richie x Salsa Dancer CS by Line Dancer and is owned and trained by Howard Rubin. The win time was 1:13:93 for the 5 1/2 Furlongs on the dirt.  

RB Hashtag under Pedro Terrero came second running ahead of AA Pockit Rockit that finished third.

Dreamm, running smoothly on her second out, finished fourth.

Makarios RC was fifth and GF Moonshot finished sixth. 

The $12,000 prize money included $5,000 from the Wathba Stallion Cup and HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival.

Dr. Cory Soltau, ARAC President said, " We want to thank the HH Sheikh Mansoor Festival for continuing with the Wathba Stallion Cup series that has helped support our California Arabian races for so many seasons."

The Festival, begun in 2009, has been a steady sponsor of California Arabian racing since 2011.The California Wathba Stallions Cup races are run by nomination to entries that are maidens as of 1 May 2021.

The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival continues the vision to further international recognition to the Arabian race horse, breeders, owners and professionals in the world through sponsorship of races on six different continents. The Wathba Stallions Cup supports our horses at the grass roots level as they advance in their racing careers.

The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Horse Racing Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Etisalat as the official sponsor, with National Feed as strategic partner, The National Archives as the official partner , Emirates Airline as the official carrier, sponsored by Al Massood Automobiles Nissan, Areej Alameerat, Omeir Travels Agency, YAS Sports TV., Viola Communications, Abu Dhabi Falconers Club, the UAE's General Women's Union, Emirates Arabian Horse Society & Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club. 

Source: Arabian Racing Association of California / Pamela Burton. Photo: Vassar Photography