Dubai's royal falcon breaks flying record

'Ghaith', the falcon of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, produced another brilliant performance on the fourth day of the series of the Fazza Championships for Falconry: 'Fakhr Al Ajyal' and clocked 19.252 seconds to beat its closest rival.

Sheikh Hamdan's falcon obliterated the record of 19.353 seconds 'Ghaith' set during the qualifying round of the same event in the Fazza Falconry Championship Tilwah held in January, proving that the 'Phenomenon' is poised to break more records in the season finale.

'Nawaf', the falcon of Sheikh Hamdan bin Saeed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum came second in a time of 19.916 seconds and third place went to Yousef Abdulla Al Nuaimi's entry in a time of 20.705 seconds. Sowaidan Bin Damithan's falcon was placed fourth in a time of 20.747 seconds and the entry of the Elite team clocked 20.815 seconds.

Suad Ibrahim Darwish, Director of Championships at HHC, stressed that the participation of Sheikh Hamdan for the second time with his falcon 'Ghaith' has added a new spirit to the tournament.

"His Highness has honoured us with his participation and his contribution to promote the importance of the sport of falconry. Although 'Ghaith' is specialized for hunting and not for racing, his record breaking performance speaks volumes of his quality," she said.