DOHA: Producing a flawless run, Belgian rider Gregory Wathelet yesterday powered Conrad de Hus to the top prize of €90,500 on day one of the Longines Global Champions Tour event in Doha .
Wathelet and Conrad de Hus proved to be deceptively quick at Al Shaqab Arena as they sealed their win against a tough field.
The second place went to Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Cornet D’Amour who had looked unbeatable while the ever-smiling Poruguese Luciana Diniz and Fit For Fun clinched the third spot.
Earlier in the evening, German rider Hans Dieter Dreher and Callisto claimed victory in the opening CSI5* class of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Doha event.
Home stars Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi - astride Gunder - and Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi - riding Utascha SFN - finished second and third respectively.
In the feature competition of the day, the first round, built by Italy’s Uliano Vezzani, was a sweeping, attacking course that took advantage of Al Shaqab’s massive arena.
Many of the star riders had their Grand Prix horses in the competition which served as a generous introduction to tomorrow’s battleground.
Of the 40 starters, an incredible 20 went through to the jump-off which shows the world-class calibre of the riders present at this, the final event of the season.
Championship leader Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum, who announced earlier yesterday that he would not compete Chiara as expected in the Grand Prix but instead Zinedine, rode a careful round with his young stallion to collect one time fault.
His rivals for the title, Great Britain’s Scott Brash with Hello Sanctos and Sweden’s Rolf-Göran Bengtsson with Casall ASK, both jumped clear though they elected not to jump-off to save their horses for the Grand Prix tomorrow.
First to go, Denis Lynch of Ireland set the pace in the jump-off with All Star 5 in a time of 41.16s.
Reigning German champion Daniel Deusser and Cornet D’Amour then wiped nearly two seconds from Lynch’s time to take the lead in 38.34s.
Wathelet and Conrad de Hus, who became an Internet sensations in Paris this summer when Conrad’s bridle fell off mid-round, took over the lead with a great round in 37.67s from the middle of the draw. Diniz did her best to catch the time, but slotted into 3rd.
Earlier in the opening CSI5* class competition yesterday, Uliano Vezzani’s welcoming course offered a few opportunities for a daring turn-back and that’s how the top three really made their mark.
Italy’s Luca Maria Moneta and the reliable Jimy held on to the lead with a time of 31.22s from third to go in the draw until Qatar’s Al Emadi shaved over a second off the Italian’s time to finish in 30.11s.
Switzerland’s Jane Richard Philips with Pablo de Virton, Gerco Schroder of the Netherlands with Amarillo and French rider Simon Delestre with Stardust Quinhon came close, but no one could catch the 2014 Asian Games gold-medal winning Qatari team member.
The experienced Hans Dieter Dreher benefitted from his late draw and knew exactly what he had to do, riding a neat round and stopping the clock at 28.88s.
Qatar’s Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi, who won a CSI5* class in Valkenswaard earlier in the season, came tantalisingly close with Gunder but had to settle for 2nd this time in 29.10s.
The Longines Global Champions Tour of Doha Grand Prix highlights will be broadcast on Eurosport tomorrow, with live coverage shown from 3.15pm CET on beIN Sports, Al Kass, Horse & Country TV, GCT TV, Equidia Life and ClassHorseTV.
The Peninsula
