Gainesway sire Afleet Alex is the sire of Korol, this year’s winner of the President of the Russian Federation Stakes, or the President’s Cup as it’s known in shorthand. The race is the most prestigious in Russia, and this year it was contested at the Kazan International Equestrian Complex on Friday night (June 24) instead of at the Central Moscow Hippodrome where the Russian Derby is contested and where the President’s Cup has been primarily held since it was founded by Vladimir Putin. Both races are on dirt at 2400 meters, but the race in Kazan was contested over an all-weather surface whereas racing in Moscow is on dirt. Last year Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov’s horses took both events, the Derby with North Stream in Moscow and the President of the Russian Federation Stakes at Rostov-on-Don with Khoresm. The controversial Mr. Kadyrov, who runs Chechnya with an iron hand, recently won the Group 1 Singapore Airlines International Cup at Kranji with the ex-Team Valor runner Gitano Hernando.
Click here for the result of the race.
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