The McLaren Cup is ready to start
The McLaren Cup, Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series 2016 first trophy, will start tomorrow, Friday 22nd at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club with a great double action polo day.
Habtoor Polo, patron ́s Mohammed Al Habtoor team, will be facing Wolves Polo, Khalaf Rashid Al Habtoor team, in the opening match of the McLaren Cup competition. Match will begin at 2 pm in field 1 of the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
Following the opening match, the winners of the Presidents Cup, Bin Drai Polo, patron Saeed Bin Drai team, will be playing against UAE Polo, HH Sheika Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum team. This match will start at 4 pm, also at the main field of the DPEC.
The umpires of the tournament are Juan José Díaz Alberdi, Tim Bown, Peter Wright and Gastón Lucero.
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 Habto
– 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