Paddys Day fancied in Houston meeting

 The Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup - Amethyst Jewel, a Grade 1 (Group 1) race gets the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival's US campaign off to a roaring start at the Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas today.
Saturday's 7-furlong Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup race is also the first leg of the three-race Triple Jewel series for Purebred Arabians in the US and the winner of the inaugural edition last year, Paddys Day, is back to bid for a successful defense of that triumph.
While 10 runners will contest the $45,000 Shaikh Zayed Cup Amethyst Jewel (Grade 1) the other featured race of the night is also a Festival race - the Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR Cup in which lady jockeys will vie for honours over a similar 7-furlong distance.
In the Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup - Amethyst Jewel, the Texas-bred Paddys Day starts as the favourite. Winner of 11 of his 14 starts, the Burning Sand 5-year-old returns to Sam Houston Race Park for owner Quarter Moon Ranch LLC and trainer Scott Powell. Jockey Kelsi Purcell will be on board Paddys Day in his first start since winning the Arabian Stallion Stakes on October 16 at Los Alamitos Race Course.
A field of 10 fillies will compete in the Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship IFAHR Cup.
French lady Delphine Garcia Dubois will ride favourite, Jewell AA, owned by Betty and Joseph Gillis, of Columbus, Mississippi. Winner of her last two stakes, including the Texas Yellow Rose at Sam Houston on February 6, the 4-year-old daughter of Burning Sand is trained by Torrez.
Torrez also saddles Dhaan under Dutch jockey Tjarda Van Den Humphreij and RB Fyrnch Broad under Norwegian Nora Hagelund Holm, and reports that each of the fillies are coming into the race in good order. He admits that with the international roster of jockeys who participate in the stakes, sometimes communicating instructions can be challenging.