THE Curragh parade ring was buzzing last Friday evening as the 13 riders in the Corinthian Challenge came out of the weighing room to face their destiny.

All were riding in a race for the first time, having raised money for Irish Injured Jockeys [IIJ] and passed all the tests in order to be granted an amateur riding licence.

The race produced an exciting finish which saw Qatari owner, trainer and breeder Mohammed Al Attiyah record a stylish success aboard the Joseph O’Brien-trained Prairie Dancer.

Mohammed started better than most and raced in second place during the early stages, just behind Chloe Kirwan on the Gordon Elliott-trained Chortal.

Prairie Dancer moved into the lead two furlongs out and looked set for an easy win, but out of the pack came Alisha McCormack on Solar Breeze (trained by Danny McLoughlin) to lay down a serious threat. Mohammed had to work hard on Prairie Dancer to stay in front and looked absolutely thrilled to have won.

Alisha, who is the office administrator for IIJ, finished a fine second and Clive Ryan was third on Relevant Range.

“This is incredible! I loved every moment!” was Mohammed’s post-race reaction. “I followed Joseph’s instructions to the letter, and they were spot-on. My horse performed spectacularly. I am immensely grateful to Joseph and the owners [Sean Sweeney and Kieran O’Hare].

IIJ general manager Michael Higgins said: “What an exhilarating race! The riders put in great effort to raise awareness and funds for Irish Injured Jockeys, and we’ve had an incredible amount of fun throughout this journey.”

Visit the Corinthian Challenge website to support the riders’ fundraising efforts and you can also apply to ride in the race yourself next year.

Web: corinthianchallenge.com.