By Duane Fonseca
F3 Stables secured victory in the Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Cup after Mansoor Khamis Al Shedi and his mount Sheila’s comfortable triumph in the 119km ride at Dubai International Endurance City on Saturday.
The ride was the main event of the Dubai Crown Prince Festival and brought to a close ten days of festivities to celebrate the achievements of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the executive council, who is a world class equestrian athlete, former world endurance championship winner and a massive supporter of equestrian sport.
Making an appearance at the Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Cup was HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. F3 Stables’ dominance at the festival was incredible with Al Shedi’s success a third in four rides.
The operation only missed out on the Private Stables affair, and Al Shedi built on Massa Adnan Tonbakji’s double in the Ladies Cup and the Yamamah Cup for Mares. Riding Sheila, Al Shedi completed the ride in three hours 59 minutes and 53 seconds (3:59:53) averaging a speed of 29.76kph over the four loops after breezing through the final loop at a pacy 36.77kph.
He was fifth going into the final loop behind Saeed Ahmad Al Shamsi, who was eliminated at the end of the ride after his mount Ducka De Luc was deemed to have an irregular gait.
That allowed Al Shedi an inroad, which the Emirati rider grabbed with both hands to finish atop an all F3 Stables podium that saw Rashed Mohammed Al Mehairi take second on the back of Imhan De Luriecq with 4:03:18 on the clock. A distant third was Majid Jamal Al Mheiri who posted a time of 4:18:00 when partnering Chaman De La Folie.
Al Shedi had started the day in 12th after the 40km first loop, and moved up two spots during the second loop over 32km. He made a big leap up the leaderboard over the 27km third loop and with a bit of luck aiding his challenge, he finished the winner.
Major General Dr Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, president of the UAE Equestrian & Racing Federation (UAEERF), Dr Ghanem Al Hajri, secretary general of the UAEERF, Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates Airlines’ senior vice president - commercial Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia, and Major General Dr Mohammed Essa Al Adhab, member of the board of directors and director general of Dubai Equestrian Club, were also present and gave away the prizes.
Race winner Al Shedi said: “I thank HH Sheikh Mohammed for his great support of all sports and his support for the riders that participate in big events like this and I thank HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, who backs this festival and is the owner of F3 Stables.
I congratulate him on the occasion of winning this precious title and I would also like to thank the efforts of all the trainers and the staff working at F3 Stables, who always work as a team and have done well to prepare the horses for this race, as can be seen by the finish on the podium; and the performance of my mare Sheila who was in fine form and finished the ride strongly against some really competitive opposition.”
Syrian rider Tonbakji had given F3 a perfect start to the event by nailing the festival-opening Ladies ride that was held over a 101km distance on 29 December with El Nize Gamilah. Finishing second and third there were Buthaina Al Redha, also of F3, on 765 Sargon, and Jumeirah Stables’ rider Catalina Bastons on Attallah Jakeem, respectively.
With the festival then rolling into January, it was Emirati Saeed Ahmad Rashed Al Shamsi who then dominated on SS Stables-owned Poli to win the Private Stables ride over the same distance with a time of 3:26:48. Placing second was his Uruguayan teammate Bryan Angeillo, who was denied by fractions of a second after scripting the same time on SM Porsche.
Third place there went to Suhail Ali Al Ghailani of SM Private Stables on Absolut Du Fonpeyrol with a time of 3:26:50. Tonbakji claimed a double at the event when winning the Yamamah Cup for Mares over 119km on F3 Stables’ RO Fantastica with a time of 4:09:01.
They were three seconds quicker there with Abdulla Mohamed Al Hammadi taking second on Al Reef Ajban Stables’ HC Jalal with 4:09:04 on the clock. Third place was secured by Abdulrahman Saeed Al Jneibi, who rode RO Lucky for Al Wathba Stables 1, and completed the ride in 4:09:52.
UAEERF president Al Raisi said: “The UAE is leading the scene in endurance riding today thanks to the great support it has received from HH Sheikh Mohammed and HH Sheikh Hamdan. The Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Cup is one of the most coveted events around the world and the participation of top riders and the valuable prizes on offer confirms the importance of this event on the international calendar.”
Emirates’ Al Ghaith added: “We are proud to sponsor major events like this that are linked to the history and heritage of our ancestors and we are committed to being associated with top events like this around the world.” Al Adhab added: “It was a truly festive atmosphere out there and F3 Stables winning the first three spots in the main event, it seems good things have rained down on them.
All of the races on the schedule were very exciting and were keenly contested by the teams. I would like to thank HH Sheikh Mohammed and HH Sheikh Hamdan for their continued support of endurance competitions and this festival in particular and I thank Emirates Airlines, the official sponsors of the Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Cup for their role in making the event a success.”
