Less than 48 hours after he won the 130-km DEC bodyweight ride, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence will be back in action in today's 130-km His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Challenge Series-Round Two, sponsored by Al Tayer Motors.
Sheikh Mohammed will be looking to complete a hat-trick of wins at the Dubai Endurance City (DEC) in Seih Assalem after winning the Masters Ride and the Dubai Endurance City bodyweight ride on Thursday.
Sheikh Mohammed is expected to ride Wadhnan, a 10-year-old Chestnut gelding, in the event which carries a total purse of Dh600,000 apart from valuable points towards the series championship.
Sheikh Mohammed had won his second consecutive ride at the DEC on Thursday and will be starting off as one of the favourites along with Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the reigning world champion.
In round one, which was won by Shareef Mohammed Abdullah Al Baloushi, Sheikh Mohammed completed the ride in fourth place, but his horse Qais was eliminated.
Sheikh Rashid, who finished second in round one, is expected to ride Banazim and the reigning European Open Champion will also be looking to add to the points he gained in the opening round of the series.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, who made an early exit in round one, will be riding Hanna while Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, who was sixth on Al Saamit, will be riding the same horse in today's event.
Apart from Sheikh Majid, Mubarak Khalifa bin Shafya, who finished third on Comes The Dawn, will also be riding the same horse today and these two will be the frontrunners for the same rider-horse combination award in the series so far.
Other top riders in the fray include Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum, Sheikh Saeed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Saeed Mananah, Sultan bin Sulayem, Saeed Abdullah Al Ketbi, Faisal Seddiq, Ali Al Muhairi, Abdullah Saeed bin Huzaim, Mohammed Ali Al Shafar and Ahmed bin Harmash, who finished third on Thursday in the bodyweight ride.
Al Tayer Motors have associated this event with Land Rover. The ride gets off to a mass start at 6.30 am. The first three stages will be run over a distance of 32kms each while the final two phases will be over 20 and 14 kms respectively.
Gulf News 2003
