Unstoppable Zedan in his McLaren Cup debut
Zedan Polo Team achieved a great victory in his McLaren Cup debut after defeating Mahra by 8 goals to 3 in the single match played this afternoon at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
Team led by 10 goaler and Argentinan Open Triple Crown winner with La Dolfina, Pablo Mac Donough, had to be patience and wait for their moment in the match to display all the team power to defeat the Mahra boys.
After two tied chukkas, patron Amr Zedan team took control of the game and with great success in every determined run achieved to increase the gap in the scoreboard to end the match with no trouble.
Martín Gándara from Zedan Team was the top scorer of the match with 4 goals and Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Jota Chavanne and Isidro Strada scored the 3 goals in Mahra team.
Match progression:
Zedan: 1-0/ 2-1/ 4-1/ 6-2/ 8-3
The McLaren Cup will continue next Monday 25th at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club with a double action day.
From 2pm, UAE Polo will be facing Mahra followed by Habtoor against Bin Drai. Both matches will be held in field 1.
Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series (Dubai Open), an 18 Goal Handicap competition, enters its seventh year under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai. The tournament is now the highest handicap in the UAE.
The Dubai Open has been split into two tournaments. Starting with the McLaren Cup 2016, which runs from Friday January 22, 2016 to Friday February 5, 2016. The second tournament, the Julius Baer Gold Cup, commences on Friday, February 19, 2016 to Friday March 11, 2016.
The Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series is the fourth-largest tournament of its kind after Argentina, the US and the UK. First founded by Mohammed Al Habtoor in 2009, the tournament is the premier regional polo competition of the year, and attracts VIPs, society figures, and senior corporate executives from across the GCC. It has grown in tandem with the city of Dubai and since 2012, it
is the only tournament in the UAE to be recognized and certified by the World Polo Tour (WPT). It is played under the banner of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), with the Gold Cup being played according to HPA rules and the provision of umpires is managed under strict international supervision by the HPA.
The participating teams will host some of the top-ranking World Polo Tour players, including Pablo Mac Donough, the 10-goal superstar and two-time ‘Triple Crown Champion with La Dolfina’; Lucas Montverde (9-goal handicap); Guillermo Terrera (8-goal handicap), Alfredo Cappella Barabucci (8-goal handicap) and Alejandro Novillo Astrada (8-goal handicap) and many others. The Dubai Polo Gold Cup will be held at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club in Arabian Ranches.
Six polo teams will be participating in the McLaren Cup 2016 18-goal handicap:
Mahra Polo – Patron: Rashid Al Habtoor
Bin Drai Polo Team – Patron: Saeed Bin Drai
Habtoor Polo Team – Patron: Mohammed Al Habtoor
UAE Polo Team – Patron: Her Highness Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Zedan Polo Team – Patron: Amr Zedan
Habtoor Wolves Polo Team – Patron: Ahmed Mohammed Al Habtoor / Khalaf Rashid Al Habtoor