Saturday, February 03, 2007

UAE: Hamdan ushers in two new endurance rides


Published: 04/02/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
Hamdan ushers in two new endurance rides

By M. Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter

Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry, announced the creation of two new endurance rides - open only to small stables and individual owners and riders.

Shaikh Hamdan attended yesterday's Shaikh Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup endurance event at the Dubai International Endurance City. The event was won by Mansour Ahmad Al Sabousi.

Shaikh Hamdan said the two rides will open up opportunities for many such riders from smaller stables and individual owners who can never compete against the big stables.

he winner of the first of these two new rides next week will receive a Nissan Patrol and the second-placed rider will be richer by Dh50,000.

Commenting on the high speeds being the average in UAE rides, Shaikh Hamdan said this was mainly due to the conducive climate prevailing here and also because of the quality of horses competing here.

Congratulating the UAE football team on winning the Gulf Cup, he said: "Initially everyone thought the favourites were Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but the UAE players showed vast improvement after losing their first game."

Meanwhile, two of Shaikh Hamdan's best Purebred Arabian horses will not be running in today's President's Cup race in Abu Dhabi and Shaikh Hamdan said: "Both Madjani and Al Soudi are nursing minor injuries and we don't want to risk them."

Shaikh Hamdan also felt the need for separate trainers for Purebred Arabians and Thoroughbreds.

Earlier yesterday, Mansour Ahmad Al Sabousi, riding Musical Gully Tamdourine, won the 120km FEI CEI three-star Shaikh Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup. The pair completed the ride in 4 hrs 46mins and 36 seconds at an average speed of 25.12kmph.

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