Nil Kamla seals double
dubai — Nil Kamla with Belgian lady jockey Anna van den Troost astride once again took advantage of the shortened distance on the ice track to win the HH Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) race on Sunday .
The year 2016 seems to be a lucky one for the 5-year-old Dahess daughter, trained by Swiss connections Franziska Aeschbacher and owned by her husband Urs Aeschbacher. For in seven previous races since 2014, Nil Kamla had failed to win a single race but in eight days has registered a perfect double as she had won the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race under Raphael Lingg on the same snow track last on Feb.14.
In the battle among lady jockeys for a place in the November final of the HH Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) series, Nil Kamla proved she is the Queen of the sprint distance on the snow track. Anna van den Troost hit the front with Nil Kamla soon after the start and then held on to finally win by about three lengths from Oriental Myth under Swiss Astrid Wullschleger (the 2015 HH Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World champion) with Alibaba Del Sol once again failing to sparkle in the 800-metre contest to finish third under Swedish lady jockey Dina Danekilde.
The 20-year old Belgian jockey was thrilled with her victory and said, “It was a challenging task as it was very important to keep the horse in the right spot in the early stages. Towards the end there is a huge scramble as it is only 800 metres distance and I was happy with the way Nil Kamla responded.”
It will be the second time that van den Troost will be making her appearance in the Abu Dhabi finale of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) series.
“It is a dream of every lady jockey to win and qualify for the finals,” said van den Troost, who had finished third on Bigg N Rich in the 2014 championship final in Abu Dhabi. “It was a great experience and I will now work towards bettering that display of mine,” she said.