Meath’s Cian O'Connor continued his good run of form in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, placing third in the day's feature class, the Two Phase competition.
O'Connor, the only Irish rider in the competition, piloted the Irish-bred mare Arabella, but found himself over two seconds off the pace in the last round behind new Saudi Arabian star Abdullah al Sharbatli, who also won last week's Arab League World Cup Qualifier competition in Dubai.
Abu Dhabi's Grand Prix Qualifier competition is held on Friday, with the World Cup class taking place on Saturday afternoon.
O'Connor won the Leading Rider Award at Dubai last Saturday, after two wins and a Grand Prix fifth place finish.
