Bahrain: Mohammed lifts Nasser trophy

Gulf-daily-news.com - Full Article

March 17, 2013

HUSSAIN Mohammed was crowned winner of the Nasser bin Hamad International Endurance Race trophy yesterday.

The Royal Endurance Team rider came on top in one of the most exciting national endurance races, which took place at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

Mohammed completed the race in a total time of five hours, two minutes and 50 seconds, with 23km per hour average speed.

He finished ahead of fellow team member Raed Mahmood (5:07:15), who settled for second place, while Ahmed Al Fateh Stable rider Shaikha Najla bint Salman Al Khalifa came third.

In the stables category, Shaikha Najla's overall finish time saw her win the competition and one of the three Toyota SUVs awarded by championship patron Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The second fastest in the stables competition was Abdulrahman Al Zayed of Ajyal Stables (5:24:37), with Fahad Al Azri (5:27:26) of Al Asayel Stable third.

Organised by the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef), being presided by Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the event also featured an 80km international qualifying ride.

But the main race of the day saw riders from across the kingdom battling over five stages for the cup glory.

The qualifying ride consisted of three stages. The first and second each covered 30kms, followed by 20km for the third.

Jaffer Mirza of the Royal Team took an early lead in the first stage, which was over 30km. He was followed by Mohammed Abdulsamad, also of the Royal Team, in second place, with Hussain Mohammed coming third.

Another 30km distance was waiting for the participants in the second stage, which ended with no significant changes as Mohammed took over the lead from Mirza, as Mahmood and Ghazi Al Dossary climbed up to second and third places, respectively.

In the 20-km third stage, Mahmood moved ahead of Mohammed, who slipped to second, for the overall lead. Al Dossary followed in third position.

Mahmood stayed ahead of everyone in the 20-km fourth stage against Mohammed and Olalya Gonzales, who were in second and third places, respectively.

But in the fifth and deciding stage, Mohammed showed some outstanding riding skills and stamina to take over the lead and celebrate a well-deserved victory with his stable mates.

Shaikh Nasser, in the presence of Shaikh Khalid and other Breef officials, presented trophies to the winners in the main event, and keys to the SUV winners in the stables competition at the prize-distribution ceremony held at the endurance village after the race.

Shaikh Nasser praised the outstanding performance of the riders yesterday and the competitive level which added more thrills to the race.

He said this race is regarded as one of the distinctive events this season, which was clearly emphasised by the participants' keenness to take part and claim podium finish.

Shaikh Nasser thanked the working committees, who exerted extra efforts in preparing for the races and pulled off great success in organsing last year's edition.

The Royal Endurance Team captain also expressed appreciation to Shaikh Khalid for backing the federation in organising all races in general, and this competition, in particular.