Al Shira’aa Racing to sponsor Group 3 race at The Curragh
The Curragh is delighted to announce that Al Shira’aa Racing have agreed to sponsor the Al Shira’aa Racing Meadow Court Stakes for the first time. The Group 3 contest for fillies and mares over 9 furlongs takes place on Sunday 21st July. The Kildare based racing and breeding operation has been based at Meadow Court Stud since 2016 and is owned by Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan and managed by Kieran Lalor.
They have enjoyed significant success at The Curragh last year with the Willie McCreery trained Vespertilio finishing a very creditable second in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes having previously won the Group 2 Debutante Stakes, while Atlantic Coast trained by Joseph O’Brien won his Curragh maiden in August before progressing to stakes race success later in the year.
Kieran Lalor added,
“ We are delighted to come on board and partner with the Curragh as sponsor of this important Group 3 race for fillies and mares over 9 furlongs. The race has been won by some top-class fillies like Insinuendo, Dank, Alexander, Tango and one of the best fillies in recent years in Magical”, he added “The boss felt this would be a great opportunity for us to refresh the memory of Meadow Court who our farm is named after and who was trained to win the Irish Derby in 1965 by champion Paddy Prendergast for Bing Crosby, Max Bell, and Frank McMahon. Everyone I meet has a story to tell about Meadow Court and we still have people that worked here decades ago come by to have a drive through the farm, so this is a great opportunity spotlight the horse and the farm together. We have had great success and enjoyment at the Curragh last year with Vespertilio and Atlantic Coast and hopefully we will have a filly to compete for this prize as well. It is an exciting partnership; the Curragh is the home to all of our classics and we would like to thank Evan and his team. I am hoping I might be able to convince Kevin Prendergast and Eimear Mulhern to help us present the trophies to the winning connections.”
Evan Arkwright, Racing and Sponsorship Manager of The Curragh commented,
“We are very grateful to Sheikha Fatima for her support, and we look forward to a long and very positive partnership with Al Shira’aa Racing, which will further develop our close relationship with the United Arab Emirates. We are particularly pleased that we will now have a race to acknowledge the legendary Meadow Court, as he was undoubtedly one of the most famous Curragh trained winners of the Irish Derby and owned by the great Bing Crosby.”
Caption photograph attached: Evan Arkwright, Racing and Sponsorship Manager of The Curragh is joined by Kieran Lalor, Manager of Al Shira’aa Racing to launch the Group 3 Al Shira’aa Racing Meadow Court Stakes, which will take place at The Curragh on Sunday 21st July.