2016 Tournament Dates Announced at Live Draw
The 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 handicapped in the UAE. A live draw for 2016 McLaren Cup was held on Monday 18 January at The St. Regis Dubai at Al Habtoor City. For a full list of dates for the games click here.
The Dubai Open has been split into two tournaments, starting with the McLaren Cup 2016, which runs from Friday 22 January to Friday 5 February. The second tournament, the Julius Baer Gold Cup, commences on Friday 19 February, with the Final on Friday 11 March. 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). The Gold Cup will be played according to HPA rules and the provision of umpires is managed by the HPA.
The participating teams will host some of the top-ranking World Polo Tour players including, 10 goaler Pablo MacDonough, Lucas Montverde (9), Guillermo Terrera (8), Alfredo Cappella Barabucci (8) and Alejandro Novillo Astrada (8).
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:
Rashid Al Habtoor’s Mahra Polo
Saeed Bin Drai’s Bin Drai Polo Team
Mohammed Al Habtoor’s Habtoor Polo Team
Her Highness Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s UAE Polo Team
Amr Zedan’s Zedan Polo Team
Ahmed Mohammed and Khalaf Rashid Al Habtoor’s Habtoor Wolves Polo Team
Photograph: The live draw was conducted at The St. Regis Dubai at Al Habtoor City. Courtesy of Dubai Polo Gold Cup
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