Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series 2015 Kicks Off Next Week

The Julius Baer Gold Cup 2015, 18 goal handicap tournament with five chukkas in a match will start on Monday, February 23, 2015 and end with the final match on Friday March 13, 2015. The event will take place at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club located at Arabian Ranches, Dubai.

The Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series (Dubai Open) is the highest handicap tournament in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and the fourth-largest tournament of its kind after Argentina, 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).

Played under the banner of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), the Julius Baer Gold Cup is played in accordance with the HPA rules and the provision of umpires is managed under strict international supervision of the HPA.

The first to be played on Monday, February 23, 2015 between Ghantoot Polo and Bin Drai Polo in the first group, and Julius Baer Team against Edrees Polo in the second group. The matches corresponding to the first phase will be played until March 6, 2015 and the four best teams of each group will continue on to play the Bentley Cup Semi-Final and the Julius Baer Gold Cup Semi-Final on Monday March 9, 2015. The finals will be held on Friday, March 13, 2015.

The prize value of this year Julius Bar Gold Cup is half of million dirhams.

This year the teams have more to play for, as the winning team will not only be awarded the trophy; each team member will also be given a limited edition Breitling for Bentley watch.

Ten of the world’s best Polo teams and the most respected names in polo have confirmed their participation to compete in this year’s tournament:

• Mahra Polo – Patron Rashid Al Habtoor
• Bin Drai Polo Team – Patron Saeed Bin Drai
• Julius Baer Team by Habtoor -Patron Mohammed Al Habtoor
• Ghantoot Polo Team – Patron HH Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• UAE Polo Team – Patron  Her Highness Sheikha Maitha bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
• Abu Dhabi Polo Team – Patron Faris Yabhouni
• Zedan Polo Team – Patron Amr Zedan
• Desert Palm 1 Polo Team -Patron Rashid Al Bawardi
• Desert Palm 2 Polo Team – Patron Tarik Al Bawardi
• Edrees Polo Team – Patron Sultan Edrees

Title Sponsor Gold Cup:

Julius Baer, the leading Swiss private banking group, was named as the title sponsor of the Gold Cup for the first time in 2015, as it looks to continue its tradition of supporting key cultural events across the UAE. The bank celebrated its tenth anniversary in the country last year and has grown to become a leading provider of private banking services in the market. Its focus on polo stems from its recognition of the sport’s value to its clients and the local community. This commitment is also driven by the sport’s dynamics that embody a combination of innovation and a consciousness of tradition, traits that the bank has been associated with in its long 125-year history.