The 100-km ride was organized by the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival and run in four loops of 40kms, 25kms, 19kms and 16kms and the top three riders were awarded a 4WD car each while those finishing 4th to 10 were given cash awards in this ride open only to horses and stables of private owners.
Going into the final stage of 16kms, Al Attas and his 8-year-old horse owned and trained by Ahmed Mohammed Abdulla Al Suwaidi, were lying in 5th place while the leader with an advantage of a little over two minutes was Humaid Al Balooshi on Imsakit.
But Al Attas got his horse to improve his speed in the final stages and he overtook the top four to win by a comfortable margin. The winning horse HH Buraq, from Al Hazim 4 Stables, completed the ride in 03hrs 08 mins 12 secs.
Humaid Al Balooshi on Imsakit gave Al Marri Stables the second place while Uruguay’s Facundo Leites on AP de la Muerte and Italy’s Giulia Vigevani on Chiquilin prevented a UAE sweep. Abdul Rahman Al Ghailani on Kazoo Park Avis took the 5th place for the UAE.
Giulia Vigevani narrowly missed winning her second car in two days as the Italian lady had finished second to Argentina’s Martina Spelanzon in Friday’s 100-km HH Sheikha Fatma Bint Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Ladies Endurance Cup ride.
HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ms. Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, General Manager of Wathba Stallions, Chairperson of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR), Adnan Sultan, Director of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Mohammed Abdulla -Sales Manager of Al Massood Automobiles and Nissan Middleast and Musalam Al Amri, Director of Al Jazira 1 & 2 stables, crowned the first three winners.
Winning owner and trainer Ahmed Mohammed Abdulla Al Suwaidi said he was very happy with his horse HH Buraq. “I thank HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and the Festival for organizing these rides for Private Owners. This gives us a great opportunity to compete at our level and the prizes are an encouraging factor,” he said.
Matar Suhail Al Yabhouni representing the Abu Dhabi Sports Council hailed the success of the ride. “This ride was a total success and it is great to see so many families including fathers, mothers and children taking interest in our heritage sport.
Ms. Sawaya said, “Today for the second day we had a lot of activity for children and especially those in the age group of 10 and below and they took part in many competitions. HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was keenly involved in the activities and also gave away prizes to the winners of the various competitions.”
“Such activities make the Endurance rides organized by the Festival unique and unparalleled in the world. Today we had 100 riders competing on horses owned by Private Stables and the small owners were very happy with the success of the event,” she said.
The results (top five):
1. Mohamed Saleh Al Attas (HH Buraq) 03hrs 08 mins 12 secs;
2. Humaid Al Balooshi (Imsakit) 03:36:59
3. Facundo Leites-URU-(AP de la Muerte) 03:37:18
4. Giulia Vigevani-ITA-(Chiquilin) 03:37:32
5.Abdul Rahman Al Ghailani (Kazoo Park Avis) 03:42:43
