Sayyid Loay, Ali al Said pass Slovakia qualifiers

MUSCAT: International jockeys HH Sayyid Loay bin Ghalib al Said and HH Sayyid Ali bin Ghalib al Said qualified successfully from the second round of the qualifiers in Slovakia for the World Endurance Championship which will be held in France next year. Both jockeys need to finish and qualify from three rounds out of five rounds in total to secure slots in the World Endurance Championship.

The race qualifiers in Slovakia was for a distance of 120 km and featured participation of international jockeys from different parts of the world including UAE and Oman. All the jockeys were seeking to qualify from the qualifiers in order to get close to the world class event next year.

The next round of the qualifiers will take place in Buch city, Germany and will be the deciding round for Oman’s jockeys to qualify for the World Endurance Championship. The German race in Buch will be for a distance of 160 km and is expected to be the most difficult race in the qualifying stage.

Sayyid Loay and Sayyid Ali managed to end the race in Slovakia on a successful note as they preserved the horse's health to obtain the certificate of race completion. Both international jockeys began the race with low speed in order to reach the final point of the race which comprised difficult and challenging areas. Moreover, the temperature was up to 4 degree Celsius in some of the highest mountains besides the mud in the surface which acted as a barrier for the jockeys and horses.

Sayyid Loay expressed his satisfaction on completing Slovakia round qualifiers on a successful note. “The race was too tough and it is considered as one of the most difficult qualifying races. Our focus now is shifted to the next deciding qualifiers in Buch city, Germany, which will determine our presence in the World Endurance Championship,” he said.

Sayyid Ali said that he was happy to make a good finish in Slovakia qualifiers. “This is my first time in the European mega events for a distance of 120 km. It was a challenging event for me and I managed to end it on a successful note. I am working hard with the team to impress at the next qualifier in Buch city, Germany, to claim a spot for the World event. A special thanks to the supporting team during the race period,” he concluded.