Rabat, Morocco – September 27, 2024 – For a while, it looked like a double for Ines Joly (FRA) who, after her victory in Tétouan, was leading this World Cup Grand Prix for a long time. And we believed it even more when Adbullah Al Sharbatly (KSA), inevitably the favorite after his incredible day yesterday, came to a halt over the second obstacle, a black and white oxer which at first glance seemed insignificant. But that was without counting on Ramzy Al Duhamy and his Olympic mount Untouchable 32. When one Saudi falters, another emerges!
The young French woman gave it her all but didn’t lose her smile: “It’s the first time I’ve found myself with Ambassador Z in a ‘real play-off’ with 17 competitors, where we had to play the game. There were only two of us when I won in Monte Carlo, so the strategy here was to risk everything, and it worked. It’s a shame; it was only 20 hundredths… Ambassador is a fighter and a horse I adore.”
“As soon as I saw him at Abdel Said’s, it was love at first sight… However, on our first show, in the warm-up, on a bar just twenty centimeters high, he tossed me. But I didn’t blame him. But he’s a horse I adore and always will, even when he puts me in the dirt. Now he’s too nice. He doesn’t like to lose. I wanted to cut into the line from the second to the third fence, but he stumbled…if I’d been able to get in front, we’d have had it, but I’m still happy.”
Ramzy Al Duhamy (KSA) was happy, too, of course. He, too, had only one plan: to go as fast as possible without taking into account Ines Joly‘s course, which he hadn’t been able to see, with a mare who isn’t noted for her speed, as their time penalty in last week’s Grand Prix of Tétouan can attest.
But this week, the Saudi has clearly found the synergy: “With Untouchable, we’re getting to know each other very well, and we’ve become real partners. She’s very sensitive, and for some time now, she’s been showing that she’s a world-class mare. She’s not the fastest, and I have to find solutions to shave off the time. She’s got a big stride, and that helps me on this big track, which I particularly like. I love this competition, this circuit, which is like a family reunion where you can get together in a friendly atmosphere while at the same time, in a technical sense, everything is perfect”.
A true testament of an international horse show, the top three positions on the podium were claimed by different nations as Marine Scauflaire (BEL) and Cuba Libre de Nevada Z secured bronze honors for the “Red Devils” in 46.06 seconds.
After such a razzia over the first two days, can Saudi Arabia be considered the favorite for Sunday’s Nations Cup? It’s easy to imagine this coming to fruition!
Final Results – €105,700 HRH Princess Lalla Amina World Cup Grand Prix CSIO 4*-W
1) Ramzy Al Duhami (KSA) & Untouchable 32 – 0 / 0 – 43.53
2) Ines Joly (FRA) & Ambassador Z – 0 / 0 – 43.75
3) Marine Scauflaire (BEL) & Cuba Libre de Nevada Z – 0 / 0 – 46.06
Source: Press Release (edited) by Pascal Renauldon / Agence R&B Presse for Morocco Royal Tour
Photos: © Morocco Royal Tour / Morgan Froment for R&B Presse
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Categories: CSI 4*-W, CSIO 4*, English, Jumper News Middle East
