Highly-rated Bertram Allen drew first blood at the CHI Al Shaqab as the Irish rider won the Table A against the clock 1.50m, the feature event on the opening day at the Al Shaqab arena yesterday.
The 21-year-old has been in fine form off lately, having registered victories in Spain and continued his winning run last night. Allen and his 13-year-old mare Molly Malone V were quite clearly the fastest in the CSI5* field as the pair negotiated the tricky course quite smoothly.
Allen and Molly Malone V were the 42nd pair to get off the blocks out of 43, and the Irish rider exactly knew what they needed to do. Roger Yves Bost of France had set an early lead with Qoud’Coeur de La Loge in 58.04 seconds. But Allen and his mare put on a lightening quick performance to stop the clock at 57.70 seconds. Pius Schwizer of Switzerland was third with Balou Rubin R, just a shade behind Bost in 58.06 secs.
Allen was quite pleased with Molly Malone V’s performance and set his sights on winning tomorrow’s Grand Prix, the feature event of the championship. The British bred mare by Kannan is 14 now and the horse has brought the young Irish rider much success during a long partnership.
“She has been a great horse for me. Molly will have off day tomorrow as I am saving her for the Grand prix on Saturday,” said Allen, who took home €23000 from a total pot of €92,000.
Bost didn’t mince his words as he paid credit to Allen. “I will ride faster next time but Bertram is a very fast rider against the clock, ” said the Frenchman, who will only be riding with Qoud’Coeur de La Loge at CHI Al Shaqab this year. “My horse enjoys it here, with the big arena and the bright lights, he really performs well,” Bost added.
In the CSI5* two phase 1.45m class, Morocco’s Abdelkebir Ouaddar beat 41other riders, including World No. 1 showjumper Daniel Duesser of Germany to win the top prize.
Ouaddar had won one of the events at the HH The Emir Sword last week, and the Moroccan didn’t put a foot wrong with his experienced grey stallion Cordano Site Z yesterday. They combined perfectly with a second phase time of 28.94 seconds.
Sweden’s Henrik Von Eckerman rode a well measured round to post a time of 29.4 seconds with Chacanno, to take the second spot.
There were a number of early clears to set the standard and some strong performances from Qatari riders, who are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with under the tutelage of their Dutch coach Jan Topps. Bassem Hassan Mohamed was one such rider, who finished third on Argelith Squid in a time of 30.31 seconds.
In the CSI3*, Kuwaiti Ali al-Khorafi riding Cheryl won against the clock 1.45m class. Al-Khorafi performed a blazing round to finish in a time of 56.8 seconds. “I love competing here at Al Shaqab and there are some great riders to beat this year. I was really pleased with my horse and I hope next year, I will compete her in the 5* class, ” said al-Khorafi.
Mubarak Yousef A S al- Rumaihi from Qatar was second with Vivaldi K in 57.6. A close third was another Qatari rider, Nasser Al Ghazeli, who posted a time of 57.70 on board Delloren. The opening event of championship, the CSI3* Two Phases 1.30m class, was clinched by Andres Penalosa of Colombia. Penalosa astride Barcelona cleared his round in 31.02 seconds.
Saudi Arabia’s Ramzy Hamad al-Duhami (High Quality J) was second in 31.73, while  Ali al-Khorafi completed the podium with Columbus in 32.12.

RESULTS
CSI5* Table A. against the clock 1.50m
1. Bertram Allen (Ireland) Molly Malone. Time: 57.70 secs. Prize money: €23000
2. Roger Yves Bost (France) Qoud’Coeur de La Loge. 58.04 secs. €18400
3. Pius Schwizer (Switzerland) Balou Rubin R. 58.06 secs. €13800
CSI5* Two Phases (274.5.3) 1.45m
1. Abdelkebir Ouaddar (Morocco) Cordano Sitte Z. Time: 28.94 secs. Prize money: €6250
2. Henrik von Eckermann (Sweden) Chacanno. 29.41 secs. €5000
3. Bassem Hassan Mohamed (Qatar) Argelith Squid. 30.31 secs. €3750

 CSI3* Table A. against the clock (238.2.1) 1.45m
1. Ali al-Khorafi (FEI) Cheril. Time: 56.88 seconds. Prize money: €6250
2. Mubarak Yousuf A S al-Rumaihi (Qatar) Vivaldi K 57.60 secs. €5000
3. Nasser al-Ghazali (Qatar) Delloren. 57.70 secs. €3750
 CSI3* Two Phases (274.5.3) 1.30m
1. Andres Penalosa (Colombia) Barcelona. Time: 31.02 secs. Prize money: €3000
2. Ramzy Hamad al-Duhami (Saudi Arabia) High Quality J. 31.73 secs. €2400
3. Ali al-Khorafi (FEI) Columbus. 32.12 secs. €1800
Para-Dressage
CPEDI3* Team Grade I
1. Jens Lasse Dokkan (Norway); Cypres, 72.560% Prize Euros 330
2. Elke Philipp (Germany); Fuerst Sinclair, 70.298% Prize Euros 250
3. Magdalena Cycak (Poland); Sybilla 59.583% Prize Euros 200