Mohammed Al Habtoor taking the lead

Mohammed Al Habtoor was at his absolute best leading his Al Habtoor Blues to a fighting 8-6 win against Rashid Al Habtoor’s Reds in the third annual Al Habtoor Challenge Cup held at the Dubai Polo Club, Arabian Ranches. His Highness Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum was the chief guest and presented the winner’s trophy to Blues’ captain Mohammed Al Habtoor in the presence of sponsors Cercle D’Art LLC, one of the top interior design consultants in the UAE.

In what looked like an easy run of the mill win for the Reds at the onset, it was the Blues who turned the tables in the fourth and final chukker with two goals to win the annual Al Habtoor Challenge Cup for the second time in row.

“I think we fought well and never gave up till the very end of the match,” mused a very satisfied Blues’ team captain Mohammed Al Habtoor. “This is a solid team and we rely so much on each other. This is a quality that has come to our rescue on previous occasions too,” the captain added.

Playing an outstanding match for the winners was the Argentinean duo of Justo del Carril and Gonzalo Azumendi with three and four goals apiece, while Khalid Ghobash found the goal once.

Giving their best for Rashid Al Habtoor’s Reds were Habtoor Al Habtoor and the Argentinean pairing of Gonzalo Bordieu and Fernando Quinto Bordieu, both playing off identical handicaps of six.

To start off, both teams were evenly balanced as far as the total handicap went – Justo del Carril and Azumendi playing off six each and the two Bordieus matching them with the same numbers for Rashid’s Reds. The opening chukker got off on a sedate note with Gonzalo Bordieu giving the Reds the lead in the sixth minute, only to see the crafty del Carril equalise with a fine behind the neck shot in the very next minute.

The second chukker proved to be the most exciting with an amazing eight goals being scored in seven minutes. “That chukker was something. It was like an all-out attack from both teams,” Justo del Carril later remarked. But this chukker gave the sizeable holiday crowd a true demonstration of the elegance this sport can rightly boast of. It was Fernando Quinto Bordieu giving the Reds the lead 2-1, and then teammate Gonzalo pushed in his second from close range to keep Rashid’s team ahead 3-1.
 

His Highness Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum and Mohammed Al Habtoor.   The polo match

In the very next move, del Carril with a lot of hard work from the left flank placed past Fernando Quinto to make it 3-2. It was at this juncture that Gonzalo Azumendi stepped in and left his mark on the match. Azumendi scored first with a 60-yard penalty for a 3-3 draw, only to see Gonzalo Bordieu add two quick goals and restore the lead for the Reds at 5-3. Azumendi scored for the second time, this instance too from a 60-yard penalty and then went off from the second chukker with a third goal off a 30-yard penalty.

The third chukker was once again evenly matched with del Carril’s hat-trick cancelling out the 6-5 lead of the Reds following a third goal from Gonzalo Bordieu. However, the genius of Azumendi was still waiting to be unfolded as he effortlessly escaped his marker, ran deep down the left and cut in through the Reds’ defence in the very first minute of the final chukker to give the Blues the lead 7-6. After this late shock, the Reds went all out for the equaliser, only to see del Carril and Azumendi mend the defence line and deny Rashid Al Habtoor’s team at least two scoring chances. Midway through the chukker, Khalid Ghobash swooped on a loose ball from the right side and guided it home to give Mohammed Al Habtoor’s Blues a well-deserved win.

Mohammed Al Habtoor was proud of the way his team fought till the end to earn the victory despite being in arrears throughout the four-chukker match. “We’ve been together for some time now and it is always pleasing to win such an open and exciting match,” he stated.


“We have seen this event grow over the past three years and I think the ultimate winner is the sport of polo and the popularity it has achieved over this period of time,” he added. Justo del Carril was over the moon for the fine showing from his team. “Four players scored hat-tricks and that sort of sums up the exciting polo we’ve played together,” del Carril noted.
 

Justo del Carril scoring a goal.   Mohammed Al Habtoor during the game.

Both Mohammed Al Habtoor and Rashid Al Habtoor had a word of praise for the sponsors who have consistently backed this event and the sport in the UAE. “Our sport would not have been what it is today, if it was without this sort of support from our sponsors,” said Rashid Al Habtoor. Among the sponsors of this annual tournament were Ghulam General Trading, Grant Thornton, ADCB, Al Habtoor Motors, Al Habtoor Leighton, Fratelli Productions, All Prints Distributors and Publishers, Haagen-Dazs, Specon, NMC Trading, Gosset, Horse Power, Hildon, Trek and Creneau International.

The next big challenge before the Al Habtoor Team is the Queen’s Cup to be held in England later in June this year.

 “We have finalised plans to take a team for the Queen’s Cup and we will have further details of this in the near future,” promised del Carril.

Exhibition Match
Eleven-year-old Jeronimo del Carril was the toast of the crowd as he showed amazing poise in his side’s 4-2 win against Ahmed Al Habtoor’s team in an exhibition match played prior to the Al Habtoor Challenge Cup.

The young del Carril, showing the remarkable fighting qualities of his father, was the hero for the Khalaf Al Habtoor-led team, with his two quick goals that literally sealed the encounter in their favour from an early stage.

Rightly, it was Jeronimo giving Khalaf Al Habtoor’s team the lead in the very first minute as he drove through the heart of the opponent’s defence and tapped into an empty goal. But 16-year-old Buddy Shakhashir was equal to the task as he played hard from the left flank to score a fine goal and restore parity by the end of the first chukker.

The del Carril junior was once again in the thick of the action early in the second chukker when he found the goal for the second time during the match. Then, Josh Morris-Lowe proved equal to his task as he evaded the defence line and put Khalaf Al Habtoor’s team 3-1 up, while hard-working Raja Abuljebain added a fourth in quick succession to put the match out of reach for Ahmed Al Habtoor’s team.

Nonetheless, all was not over when Ahmed Al Habtoor led from the front to score a brilliant goal to make it 4-2. However, it was a bit too late as the full-time buzzer went off with a fair bit of excitement for the upcoming crunch match between the teams led by Mohammed Al Habtoor and Rashid Al Habtoor.
 

Rashid Al Habtoor's team, Al Habtoor Reds, with His Highness Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum.

A Rich History Backs This Event
Though only in its third year, the annual Al Habtoor Polo Challenge Cup has a rich history of preserving and fostering the sport of kings in the UAE with the Al Habtoors leading the charge.

The inaugural edition of this tournament was held on March 23, 2007 at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian, Club Arabian Ranches, with sponsorship from Al Habtoor and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB). In an exciting match, the Al Habtoor team consisting of Mohammed Al Habtoor, Rashid Al Habtoor, Justo del Carril and Pipi Bordieu defeated the ADCB side of Susan Sanderson, John Fisher, James Harper and
Herman Echague 9-5.

The second tournament was held on March 21, 2008 once again with sponsorship from ADCB. Team Mohammed consisting of Mohammed Al Habtoor, Habtoor Al Habtoor, Ezequiel de Biashio and Justo del Carril took on Team Rashid with Rashid Al Habtoor, Tariq, Pipi Bordieu and Luis Vignolles and were tied 2-2 at the end of the third chukker. It was Justo del Carril making his mark once again with two quick goals in the fourth and final chukker to hand Team Mohammed an exciting 4-2 win.

“This year too this event has been an exciting one for us and we are pleased to see this tournament grow,” remarked Mohammed Al Habtoor.
 

The winning team, Al Habtoor Blues, receiving the trophy from Hiss Highness Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum.