Abu Dhabi: Ali Mohammad Ali Al Hosani led home an impressive one-two finish for the Abu Dhabi’s Al Reef Stables by overcoming India’s Nakhat Singh Deep Singh in a close finish to Thursday’s 100-km CEN Al Wathba endurance ride at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi.
Riding the eight-year-old grey gelding Cyrus Nahdim, Al Hosani clocked a winning time of four hours, one minute and 17 seconds.
The event signalled the start of the UAE’s domestic endurance season for 2015-2016.
Nakhat Singh, aboard Cherox Cheetah, enjoyed a five minute-plus lead over Al Hosani going into the final loop. However, the UAE rider came up with a superior effort in the last 20km to win by 11 seconds.
Three other UAE riders — Mohammad Obaid Mohammad Al Zeyoudi (RR Erebus), Ahmad Ali Saif Al Nassiri (Shek Des Ors) and Saeed Ahmad Saeed Al Khattal (HLM Magno) took the next three spots.
The top five finishers drove away with a 4WD each.
“I’m delighted to win the inaugural race of the season. The race was very strong and I had to be careful in the early stages. In the last loop my horse showed a lot of character and kept going and that helped me overturn the gap and finish first,” said Al Hosani.
Omer Al Beloushi, trainer of the winning horse, said: “The weather became warmer in the second and third loop and for this reason I suggest the water points should be increased to cool down the horses and riders”.
Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, hailed the perfect organisation of the opening race and the strong performance of the riders. Regarding the request of the riders to increase the water points, Al Nuaimi promised to consider this by creating new points every 800 metres.
“The fences were made to separate the riders from the vehicles to provide equal chances for all participants,” he added.
Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, added: “This is the opening ride of the season and we had 108 starters. It was smoothly organised and the riders and support staff will get used to the new rules.”
The Shaikh Mansour Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare with The National Archives as the official partner and Emirates airline as the official carriers.
