HH President of UAE Polo Cup To Crown New Champion as Zedan and Habtoor Face Off

Defending Champions Ghantoot Land Rover Play Bin Drai in Subsidiary Final

Abu Dhabi, 29^th March: The final of the President of UAE Cup gets underway tomorrow (Friday) with a crunch game between Saudi Arabia’s Zedan and Dubai’s Habtoor.

The much-anticipated final finally pits the tournament’s only two unbeaten sides against each other in what promises to be a mouth-watering feast of fast and furious polo.

Habtoor, led by patron Mohammed Al Habtoor are mining a rich vein of form that saw them romp to the title in the Dubai Gold Polo Cup earlier this month. Meanwhile, Zedan, led by their patron, Amr Zedan, have regularly knocked up high winning scores in their bid for this HH President of UAE Polo Cup.

The tournament, the largest in the region with eight teams split into two groups of four, has provided spectators with two weeks of high-class polo action. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Saudi Arabia were represented in the line-up.

As the season-ending event at Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club, the final is set to be a day of classic polo as well as off-field entertainment for all the family.

The HH President of the UAE Polo Cup is held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club and presented by ADCB.

Friday promises a feast of polo with last year’s winners and event hosts, Ghantoot Land Rover, hoping to get their hands on some silverware in the subsidiary final when they face Bin Drai.

Dr. Majdi Abd El Muhdi, Head of Corporate Communications at ADCB the presenting partner said he was looking forward to an afternoon of family entertainment and top class polo at Abu Dhabi’s Royal club.

“I think the eight teams in this tournament have produced some incredibly exciting and skillful games with an international flavor, which bodes very well for the future of the sport in this region.

“Our mission has always been to further the development of polo in the UAE as well as to help bring about positive and ongoing changes to our society through the use of sport. We believe this event, and the others that are held at Ghantoot such as Pink Polo, contribute to this mission very well.

“We hope our contribution to the festivities at the final, including the ADCB Ambition Garden, prove popular with guests.”

Members of the public are encouraged to attend Abu Dhabi’s Royal club on Friday to enjoy a free family day out and witness the matches first hand.

The President’s Cup grand final will feature free family activities including the ADCB Ambition Garden, free pony and camel rides, a picnic area and Carluccio’s hospitality and restaurant.

Carrie McNeill, Tournament director said: “It is always a pleasure to see a big crowd enjoying a family day out at Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club. The HH President of UAE Polo Cup is our biggest tournament of the season and we are proud to invite members of the public to come and watch two excellent games of polo and take part in all the off-field activities and entertainments that we have organised. We encourage all polo fans and those who are curious about this great sport to come along on Friday.”

The event is presented by Abu Dhabi Commercial bank and the Official Car is Land Rover Premier Motors. It is supported by Bespoke Italia, Carluccio’s, Fiji Water, Prisa Polo and Summerland.

ENDS

TEAMS FOR FINAL DAY

4.00pm Subsidiary Final:  Ghantoot Land Rover vs Bin Drai

5.30pm Grand Final: Zedan vs Habtoor

N Name   HCP

Ghantoot Land Rover (12)

1 Ahmed Al Neaimi  0

2  Rubin Reynal  0

3  Oscar Colombres  5

4  Hugo Barabucci  7

Bin Drai (13)

1  Rashid Bin Drai    0

2  Nicolas Petracchi    4

3  Tomas Iriarte    4

4  Vieri Antinori    5

Zedan (13)

1 Amr Zedan     0

2 Manuel Elizalde    2

3 Matias "Bocha"   3

4 Ignacio "Nachi" Heguy 8

Habtoor (13)

1 Mohammed Al Habtoor 0

2 Hamza Mawaz  1

3 Guillermo Cutino   6

4 Fran Elizalde   6

ABOUT HH PRESIDENT OF UAE POLO CUP

Held in the name of the president, The H.H President of UAE Polo Cup comes under the patronage of HH Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club.

The two-week long tournament is considered one of the most prestigious in the Middle East. With eight participating teams from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, it boasts the largest international field.

Qualification games for the H.H President of UAE Polo Cup begin on March 18 and the final is on March 30.

During the tournament spectators will be treated to a masterclass in polo from Argentine professionals and accomplished Emirati players in what promises to be the fastest-paced polo action of the season.

The event is presented by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), lead sponsored by Land Rover Premier Motors who provide the official car and supported by Bespoke Italia, Carluccio’s, Fiji water, Prisa Polo, Summerland and the official media partners are Abu Dhabi Week and Radio 1.




THE GRAND FINAL

Ghatnoot Racing & Polo Club would like to welcome you to an unforgettable equestrian experience and a day full of family entertainment.

On March 30, we will be throwing open our gates to give the public a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the UAE's only Royal polo facility.

Our club's most historic and prestigious polo tournament is set amid the lush greenery of the facility's polo fields and members of the public are invited to come along and experience the grounds, on-pitch action and family entertainment, all free of charge.

Today polo is one of the fastest-growing spectator sports in the world and the H.H. President of UAE Polo Cup grand final offers spectators an exciting combination of international polo and family entertainment to form an unforgettable day at Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club.

Polo will take centre stage together with many family activities such as the ADCB Ambition Garden, face painting for children, bouncy castle, free pony rides, Carluccio’s onsite restaurant and exclusive hospitality and much more.

Gates open at 2pm.

PROGRAM

March 30th

2.00 pm Gates open to the public (children's play zone, camel & pony rides)

Picnic area

Carluccio’s Restaurant opens

ADCB Ambition Garden opens

2.30 pm ADCB Family Games (on Polo field)

3.00 pm
 VIP Hospitality in the Clubhouse opens (By invitation Only)

On pitch equestrian activities by Emirates Heritage Club

3.15pm  Meet the Polo players in ADCB Ambition Garden

3.30pm
 Warm up and team presentations of Subsidiary final

4.00pm
 Subsidiary final

5.00pm
 Warm up and team presentations of Subsidiary final

5.30pm
 Grand final followed by trophy presentation

8.00pm
 Grounds close

RESULTS QUALIFYING GAMES

GROUP results

ABOUT GHANTOOT RACING & POLO CLUB

Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club was founded 1997 and is a private, royal venue sprung up around the vision of the late President, His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and today run under the patronage of his son His Highness Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nayhan.

Set in 300 hectares of lush grassland, Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club boasts world-class polo and equestrian facilities. The property showcases eight polo fields, stables for over 250 top-class polo ponies and a 2,000-seater grandstand equipped with VIP entrance, media facilities and business centre. The Club’s colonial style Clubhouse includes dining facilities with outstanding views of the polo field as well as an opulent swimming pool and fully equipped gymnasium.

The club, known as one of the most prestigious and exclusive polo clubs in the region, is ideally situated just 45 minutes from Abu Dhabi City Centre and 15 minutes from Dubai Marina. Through out the year, His Highness Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nayhan invites the public to visit and enjoy polo tournaments, music concerts and other festive activities hosted at the club.

For further info and tournament updates join us on Facebook/Ghantootpolo and visit www.presidentpolocup.ae

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ABOUT ADCB

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ADCB is owned 58.08 percent by the Abu Dhabi Government through Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Its shares are traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, ADCB, has won the Silver class category of The Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA) for the finance sector and also was recently named "Best Retail Bank in the UAE & GCC 2010" by The Asian Banker magazine.

If you'd like more information about this topic, please contact: ADCB, Corporate Communications Department: Tel: +971 (0) 2 696 2380,Fax:+971 (0) 2 610 9852

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Premier Motors is a subsidiary of Al Tayer Motors, one of the UAE's premier automobile dealerships, and represents Ford, Lincoln, Land Rover, Jaguar, Ferrari, Maserati and Spyker cars in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The company's automotive portfolio also includes DAF Trucks.

Premier Motors' showrooms are located at Khalidiya in Abu Dhabi and Senayya in Al Ain. Service and parts centre is located in Mussaffah.

Should you wish to test drive a Ford, Lincoln, Land Rover or Jaguar vehicle, please call the showroom on 02 6917000. The contact number for the Ferrari and Maserati showroom is 02 4935000