By Duane Fonseca
Emirati rider Layla Al Marzooqi proved her success in last week’s Commemoration Day Cup for Private Stables was not a matter of chance by landing a second victory in as many weeks when winning the CEN 100km Sheikha Fatma bint Mubarak Ladies Cup for Private Owners at Emirates International Endurance Village at Boudheib on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.
The ride on Saturday and her victory aboard Catch Me Hipolyte could not have been farther from how it panned out for her when winning the 119km Commemoration Day Cup for Private Stables at Dubai International Endurance City in Seeh Al Salam when partnering for the same Al Kamda Endurance Stables.
For last week she had to work her way up the rung with a lot of tweaking needed from her team, but banking the same expertise, she was able to deliver yet again days apart, controlling the leaderboard from start to finish. That is not to say she didn’t have her work cut out. As winner of the Commemoration Day Cup, Al Marzooqi knew she would be the one being hunted down.
But she never let her guard down and instead dominated proceedings all the way to win the four loop ride with a time of three hours 31 minutes and two seconds (3:31:02) after going about her business at an average speed of 28.4kph. Al Marzooqi and Catch Me Hipolyte remained in control all along and never looked in danger of ceding their advantage to the rest of the field and by the halfway stage had only to ensure they weren’t eliminated or disqualified for any reason.
Joining Al Marzooqi on the podium was her Emirati compatriot Shaima Dawood Ali, who finished second aboard AS Endurance Stables-owned Tonki Dee Boo Mia, the pair clocking 3:37:48. Shaima did well to work her way up the leaderboard having started at 12th and then moved consistently up to seventh and fourth during the second and third loops. Shaima was a little over a minute quicker than the third place logged by Spaniard Catalina Llorens, who completed the ride aboard TNT Private Stables’ Kalimnah Farm Nimbus in 3:39:20.
