Great Britain’s Scott Brash won the CSI5* jump-off class with a 44.78 second round on the penultimate day of the Longines Global Champions Tour Doha at Al Shaqab Arena yesterday. PICTURES: Shemeer Rasheed

 

By Sahan Bidappa/Doha
 

Leading contender Scott Brash warmed-up for the title finale by claiming the CSI5* jump-off class on the penultimate day of the Longines Global Champions Tour Doha at Al Shaqab arena yesterday.
Under the lights on a chilly evening, Britain’s Brash, mounting the nine-year-old Hello Forever, shrugged off the disappointment of the opening day, to take the top spot. The World No.1, who will be plotting his third consecutive Global Champions Tour title in Grand Prix final today, was the last to go in the 11-strong jump-off.
To his credit, Brash judged his round perfectly to finish clear in 44.78 seconds, 0.64 of a second quicker than his nearest rival and one of the other two title contenders, Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengsson.
Bengsson took second place last night on his 12-year-old grey stallion Clarimo ASK, while third place went to Germany’s Marco Kutscher on Balermo, who was first into the arena in both the first round and the jump-off.
But Brash was immaculate with his jump as Hello Forever, who played up in one corner of the arena on Thursday, was in a good mood last night. The nine-year-old chestnut Hello Forever playing up, Scott explained, was not out of character for the son of For Pleasure.
“I’m really chuffed,” said Brash, who took home 50,490 Euros for his effort. “He’s got that bit of cheekiness with him and yesterday we had the hiccup, but his jump is very good and hopefully next year he’ll be an even better horse. He loves going fast and he loves to jump off, so he’s very competitive in that way,” the 29-year-old added.
Brash brushed off his poor show on Thursday, and said he feels positive about today’s Grand Prix, which he will ride with Olympic gold medal winner Hello Sanctos. “He feels good and he’s had a day off today; we’ll try our best tomorrow,” he said of Hello Sanctos.
The other title contender, Luciana Diniz of Portugal, who is two points behind Brash in the title race, finished a disappointing 14th in the first round. Diniz failed to qualify for the jump-off, as only the top 12 made it to the final round. However, the Portuguese will be hoping to repeat her feat from Vienna in the Grand Prix, where she won the feature event.
Meanwhile, Khalid Mohammed A S al-Emadi, up Tamira IV, was the best Qatari rider last night. Al-Emadi made it to the jump-off round, where he finished seventh in a creditable time of 45.43 seconds, including 4 penalty points.
Two other Qatari riders, Bassem Hassan Mohammed (The Toymaker) and Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani (Imperio Egipcio Milton) had an off day, finishing 30th and 36th respectively. Hamad Ali Mohamed A al-Attiyah (Whitaker), also of Qatar, retired.
In the two afternoon events, held exclusively for local riders, Faleh Suwead al-Ajami (Come Soon) won the 1.40m Jump-Off event, while in the 1.20/1.25m competition Hamad Nasser al-Qadi (Azucar) emerged triumphant.

RESULTS
CSI5* 1.50/1.55m
Table A: Against the Clock with Jump-Off
1. Scott Brash (Hello Forever) Britain 44.78 seconds. Prize Money: Euro: 50,490  
2. Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (Clarimo ASK) 45.42 seconds. Euro: 30,600
3. Marco Kutscher (Balermo) 46.85 seconds. Euro: 22,950  
 
Class N 4: Doha 2015 Invitational 1.40m
Table A: Against the Clock with Jump-Off
1. Faleh Suwead al-Ajami (Come Soon) Qatar 33.81 seconds. Prize money: QAR 16,500
2. Mubarak Yousuf A S al-Rumaihi (Vivaldi K) Qatar 34.52 seconds. QAR: 10,000
3. Rashid Towaim Ali al-Marri (Beyonce) Qatar 37.8 seconds. QAR: 7,500
 
Class N 3: Doha 2015 Invitational 1.20/1.25m
Table A: Against the Clock with Jump-Off
1. Hamad Nasser al-Qadi (Azucar) Qatar 34.60 seconds. Prize Money: QAR: 4,950
2. Salman Mohammed A S al-Emadi (Lucky Lady) Qatar 35.73 second. QAR: 3,000
3. Fahad Abdulaziz al-Eid (Unlimited) 36.16 seconds. QAR: 2,250