Dubai // The UAE's Abdulla Ghanim Al Marri became the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious HH Sheikh Mohammed bid Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup on Saturday when he beat Bahrain's Ahmed Abdulla Al Hazza by just 27 seconds.
The 17 year old from the Nad Al Sheba Stables guided his mount Cronus to a slender victory over a 160km course in the fifth running of the prestigious endurance event, which is organised by Dubai Equestrian Club.
A field of 121 international riders, representing 18 separate countries, competed in the event that began at 7am at the Dubai International Endurance City.
Prominent riders from the UAE included Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai, who last month successfully guided the UAE endurance team to a gold medal at the Arab Games held in Qatar.
Third place went to Mohammed Ahmed Hassan Al Abbar of the UAE as he rode the 14-year-old mare Kumait for Al Aasfa Limited to finish eight minutes and 55 seconds behind the winner.
The competition, that annually serves as the highlight of the Dubai Endurance season was held for horses of seven years old and above and featured five loops that were at distances of 40km, 36km, 33km, 32km and 19km.