Action from the first day of the Longines Global Champions Tour final leg at Al Shaqab Arena in Doha yesterday. Today’s action begins at 2.00pm. The Longines Global Champions Tour overall champion will be crowned on Saturday.
DOHA: Patrice Delaveau of France and Carinjo HDC yesterday produced a superb show of grit and control to grab the limelight at yesterday’s star-studded Longines Global Champions Tour 5* 1.55m International Class.
With every rider in the 14-strong jump-off setting an increasingly fast time, Delaveau, who was last to jump in the second round, had to push hard and go for very tight lines in order to win.
In second place, Harrie Smolders and the feisty mare Regina Z and third-placed Edwina Tops Alexander with Erenice Horta did their best but were pipped at the post by the super fast Frenchman.
With a tricky and technical first round course to contend with from world-renowned course builder Uliano Vezzani, poles were lowered throughout with no ‘bogey fence’ presenting itself.
The jump-off course was a mixture of long gallops and tight turns which saw 10 combinations complete a double clear.
Strong combinations such as Daniel Deusser and Cornet d’Amour as well as Michael Whitaker and Amai stretched their legs, demonstrating all the skill necessary to dominate tomorrow night’s Grand Prix.
In the jump-off, Luciana Diniz, who finished 5th, set the pace from second to go until Constant van Paesschen shaved a second off her time from the middle of the draw.
Smolders took another second off Van Paesschen’s time with his second round and looked like he would be very tough to beat.
But leaving the best for last, Delaveau took 0.3 seconds off Smolder’s time. The intensity of the class grew with each new round.
Earlier, Juan Carlos Garcia of Italy and his impressive mount Paulin took the opening 5* class.
Current European champion Roger Yves Bost and Castle Forbes Cosma was just 0.4s behind in second with Germany’s Johannes Ehning (Cayenne) in third place.
All the three top riders exhibited flawless routines at Al Shaqab that was drenched by the downpour on Wednesday but the groundstaff readied the facility for action yesterday.
There was early success in the event on home soil for local Qatari riders Hamad Ali Mohamed Al Attiyah (Ultimo) and Faleh Suwead Al Ajami (Come Soon) as they finished in 4th and 6th positions respectively.
Al Attiyah and Al Ajami later joined the top riders at the prize giving ceremony.
Qatar’s leading rider Sheikh Ali bin Khaled Al Thani and his the eye-catching mount Sieshof’s Abraksas picked up an unfortunate time fault in the first round of this evening’s class.
But Sheikh Ali spoke of his pride at the Longines Global Champions Tour staging its final leg of 2013 at Al Shaqab.
“It means a lot for Qatar because we always want to improve the sport. This is a big name to have the GCT for Qatar and it is good for the Global Tour to come here” Sheikh Ali said, during the prize distribution ceremony.
THE PENINSULA
