UAE: Endurance: Abdullah wins top honours

Gulfnews.com
photo: Abdullah Rashid Mohammad, on EO Fahad, reacts after winning the 100km Boudtheib Endurance Cup for juniors at the Boudtheib Endurance Village in Al Khatem yesterday.

By M. Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter
Published: November 10, 2007, 22:52

Abu Dhabi: Abdullah Rashid Mohammad from Al Wathba Stables won the 100km Boudtheib Endurance Cup with a convincing ride on EO Fahad at the Boudtheib Endurance Village in Al Khatem here.

The 15-year-old finished first in each of the four stages of 30km, 30km, 24km and 16km to finish ahead of Al Reef Stables' Naser Khamis Ali Saeed in the season's first competitive ride.

Both Mohammad and Saeed were involved in a close contest and finished almost 30 minutes ahead of third-placed Butti Mohammad Khalaf Al Merri.

"This is my first win here in the UAE. I have won a junior ride in the UK," said Abdullah, who is trained by Al Wathba's top rider and trainer, Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri.

"Conditions were nice in the early part of the ride, but after that it became a bit hot. But my horse [EO Fahad] was in good form," said the youngster.

Abdullah and EO Fahad completed the ride in a total time of 3 hours 59 minutes and 23 seconds. "There are quite a few rides for juniors this season and I am looking forward to some more top finishes. I will also be taking part in a few open rides," said Rashid, who averaged 25.06 km/h speed through the 100km ride.

Naser Khamis, younger brother of top UAE rider Abdullah Ali Khamis, did give Rashid a solid fight. Khamis on Tris Filou finished just over a minute behind the winner while the rest of the field were left far behind.

A total of 32 youngsters took part in the ride which was accompanied by two Qualifier Rides, one over 44km and the other over 80km.