BALTIMORE, 05-19-12 – Shiek Joann Bin Hamad K. H. Al-Thani’s T M Fred Texas continued his domination of North American Arabian-bred horses, romping to victory in the $75,000 President of UAE  CUP (G1) Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

Ridden by Abel Castellano Jr. for trainer Ronald Martino, the son of Burning Sand tracked the pace before launching a four-wide bid into the far turn and emerging with the lead at the top of the stretch. He continued on to prevail over pacesetter Grilla by 2 ¾ lengths. Rich Frynchman rallied to take third.

T M Fred Texas, absent since winning the Delaware Classic (G1) in November, paid $4.40 for the win in the 1 1/16-mile event.

The President of the United Arab Emirates Cup is part of an international series sponsored by Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE. The Presidents of the UAE Cup series was created 20 years ago to promote and celebrate the Arabian breed internationally, and is recognized as the world’s premier racing series for the breed. The tour also has stops in Ireland, France, Russia, United Kingdom, Turkey and Germany this year.

President of UAE Cup Quotes

Ronald Martino (winning trainer, T M Fred Texas)– “He’s always been a handful in the paddock, and that is why we didn’t put the rider up until he came out on the track. I preferred to be on the outside. That way he could stay out of trouble. I’m telling you this is an iron horse. He always shows up. I’m not sure where he’ll run next.”

Abel Castellano Jr. (winning jockey, T M Fred Texas) – “I was about 10-wide in the first turn and I was a little worried about that. I was able to drop him over and gradually saved some ground in the second turn. When I really asked him to run, he responded pretty well. He’s a very nice horse. I think the trainer had a lot of confidence because he didn’t say too much. He just said ‘Ride your race. He’s a nice horse and he’s going to take you to the wire first.’ That gave me a lot of confidence, too.”