HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani applauds Qatar’s Bassem Hassan Mohamed after he finished second in the Global Champions Tour of Miami Beach Grand Prix in Miami on Sunday.
Agencies/Miami
Qatar’s Bassem Hassan Mohamed came up with a sterling performance to finish a grand second behind World number one Scott Brash in the Global Champions Tour of Miami Beach Grand Prix in Miami.
Course designer Uliano Vezzani played it out perfectly with his testing course seeing only twelve of the forty six starters achieving a clear in the first round. Having cut the field down by almost a quarter in terms of those coming forward for the second round carrying zero penalties it was then only a third of those that managed to achieve yet another clear and guarantee a third and final jump off.
The arena looked absolutely stunning with Miami beach as its backdrop and packed on every side with spectators, many of whom were still in their beachwear, enjoying the incredible competition that was being played out before them. Also in attendance were HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatar Equestrian Federation president Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah and many Qatari supporters.
As the first of the four riders came forward for this four-way fight which would finalise how the $600,000 prize fund was going to be awarded the atmosphere was electric.
Qatar’s Bassem Hassan Mohamed astride Palloubet D Halong set the standard with a clear round stopping the clock at 39.74 seconds. Having put the pressure on from the outset the three to follow knew that they not only had to jump clear but also be fast if they were to claim the lead that had been set.
Roger Yves Bost and Nippon D’Elle set off through the start making it obvious that they were going to cut as many corners as they could, however a turn back to a vertical was just a stride too tight for Nippon D’Elle who put in a stop resulting in four penalties being accrued plus a time fault when they stopped the clock at 47.33 seconds.
Reigning GCT title holder for the second consecutive year, Brash came into the arena with the incredible Hello Sanctos on whom he won a Team Gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Having jumped brilliant clears in the first two rounds, Sanctos looked incredibly fresh and pleased to be back competing having enjoyed a rest recently. Making the enormous fences look effortless he stepped up the pace as he twisted his way around the course to leave all the fences standing just over a second faster than Bassem in a time of 38.57 seconds.
Qatar’s Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani and Concordija had earlier finished second in the American Invitational, a five star event to make it a double delight for Qatar. QEF president Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah was delighted with the success of the Qatari riders at the global event. “My congratulations to Bassem and Sheikh Ali for their impressive performances in a field that had the world’s best riders taking part. This has all been possible due to the support of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the directions of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani.”
“This has been a glorious start for the season which is the best possible preparation for the World Cup in Las Vegas. The Qatar team has been doing well and we are confident that they will bring more Laurels to the country.”