Mohammed Khalifa Albaker guiding Verona towards victory in the Medium Tour Team Event yesterday.
Doha: Mohammed Khalifa Albaker, astride Verona, completed a flawless ride to clinch major honours on the opening day of the fourth round of Longines Hathab Qatar Equestrian Tour yesterday.
At the Qatar Equestrian Federation's Arena, Albaker and his 13-year-old mare completed a jump off in 33.05 secs to win the top individual prize of the day, worth QR7,500.
Zorro Z, with Salman Mohammed Al Emadi in the saddle, completed the task in 33.74 secs to clinch the second spot as he got richer by QR6,000.
Brennus Villelongue, ridden by popular French rider Cyrine Cherif, completed the podium with a round that lasted for 34.74 secs as she won QR 4,500.
Hamad Ali Al Attiyah (Calgary VD Haterbeek Z, 36.95 secs) and Shk. Khalifa Al Thani (Serendipity, 38.46 secs) rounded up the top five in the Medium Tour event which offered a total of QR30,000 in prize money.
Albaker's heroics also played a major role in the victory of his team, Limited Edition Cars, in the team event yesterday.
Limited Edition Cars, which had the services of Albaker and Alqaqa Adel Nassar (Carport, 72.25 secs) topped the standings to win the Medium Tour team event as the Qatari duo bagged QR15,000 in prize money.
Team QAF, supported by Al Emadi, Mohammed Abdulla Juma (Lucratief) and Hamad Ali Al Attiyah (Calgary VD Haterbeek Z), finished second.
Team ExxonMobil, with Cyrine Cherif (Brennus Villelongue) and Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi (Fiji), finished third.
Earlier, in the Small Tour, Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi topped a field of 51 entries astride his 17-year-old mare Dusty to collect 65 points after a ride which was completed in 49.89 secs. The victory made Al Khaldi richer by QR5,000.
Saad Ahmed Al Saad and Fito R finished second after completing the same task in 52.85 secs. He won QR4,000.
Arselina, with Harir Alhaies in the saddle, clocked the third fastest time of 55.09 secs as all the podium winners completed their rounds without conceding any errors.
