By Duane Fonseca -
The His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup sponsored by Emirates is known as a champion maker race and another might have been unearthed in this year in the form of Majid Jamal Al Mheiri, who won the 17th edition of the gruelling 160km ride at Dubai International Endurance City on Saturday aboard F3 Stables owned Guezla. The ride in the sands of Seih Al Salaam brought the curtains down on the 17th His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Festival, which ran over five days and comprised three other events: a Ladies Ride and a Private Stables competition, both over a 101km circuit, and the 119km Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares. The HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup turned out to be Al Mheiri’s biggest career prize and witnessed him better the second place finish he managed in the Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares. Riding Guezla, a 11-yearold chestnut mare, Al Mheiri completed the ride with a time of six hours, 16 minutes and one second (6:16:01) at an average speed of 25.53kph.
In what turned out to be a very keenly contested event, victory boiled down to the final 20km loop, into which Saif Ahmed Al Mazrouei riding MRM Stables’ Magic Glenn Torque carried a one second lead. Hamad Humaid Al Tamimi on TNT Private Stables’ Eole Armor was second. Al Mheiri and Guezla were 41s adrift of the leaders and it would take a colossal effort from the pair to take over. However, after receiving his orders to go all out Al Mheiri went full throttle aboard Guezla, which saw the pair gallop nearly 10km faster at 32.2kph compared to the 22.53kph they rode at during the 30km penultimate stage. The upping of tempo proved sufficient to carry Al Mheiri and Guezla to victory as they upended Al Mazrouei and Magic Glenn Torque to win by 10s with the MRM Stables pair posting a time of 6:16:11. The Jumeirah Stables pairing of Ahmed Mohammed Al Shehi and El Gran Jack did well to finish third after losing their way during the second loop. The bronze medallists were home in 6:16:30.
BIGGEST STAGE OF ALL
The HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Festival is one of the most prestigious competitions on the world endurance calendar, attracting interest from far and wide, with riders from virtually every continent and major endurance riding nation represented on the programme. The Festival is held in honour of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, a former world championship winning rider and one of the world’s most ardent supporters and benefactors of the sport.
The Festival is organised by Dubai Equestrian Club in association with the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation (UAEERF). UAEERF President Major General Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi and Adel Al Ghaith, the Senior VP Commercial Operations Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia, presented the top three finishers with their prizes in the presence of Dr. Ghanem Al Hajri, Secretary General of the UAEERF, and Major General Dr. Mohammed Essa Al Adhab, Member of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Dubai Equestrian Club.
Praising the success of the festival, Dr. Al Raisi said: “The event enjoys the immense support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and has grown into one of the world’s top endurance events because of the wise leadership of the nation, to put the UAE on the global equestrian map.” Dr. Al Adhab added: “This year’s Festival attracted a slew of the top riders from around the world and you could tell by the level of competition in each of the events what winning this title means to endurance athletes around the world.
The closing of the HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup was extremely entertaining and I would like to thank all those involved in organising this event and participating in it for their role in making it a tremendous success.” Winning rider Al Mheiri added: “It is a privilege to participate in an event that carries the kind of prestige carried by the HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup and to win it is just unbelievable. “I’ve enjoyed a tremendous breakthrough in this year’s Festival with a second place in the Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares followed by this victory. Winning this event will do my career a world of good because the world’s best riders descend in Dubai to compete for the lucrative prizes on offer.” He added: “My goals for the future are big after a win like this and it is now my ambition to win the World Endurance Championships. The quality on offer during the Festival makes it come of the biggest endurance meetings in the world and when you win an event like this it automatically gives you the confidence to go and achieve bigger and better things and I would now like to raise the UAE flag high in endurance events around the world.”
