24 February '25
Clearround IL Mondo Z and Dexter Fontenis Z ensure five-star wins in Doha
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Studbook
© Lukasz Kowalski
With no fewer than four five-star competitions on the programme worldwide, last weekend was another particularly busy weekend at the very highest level. One of those five-star competitions was the CHI Al Shaqab presented by Longines, which has taken place in Doha for several years now the week before the start of the new Longines Global Champions Tour season. Several Z-horses also made their appearance in the ring in Al Shaqab over the past few days and once again managed to achieve a lot of nice performances and victories.
British rider Millie Allen and the 9-year-old grey gelding Clearround IL Mondo Z, a son of Comme Il Faut and Clearway, bred by Tim Naessens and with whom Allen had already performed well several times in Doha in recent weeks, were responsible for one of those victories. Allen and Clearround IL Mondo Z shone on Friday evening in Doha with a win in the Prix Hermès Sellier, a 1.55m class that counted as qualification for the CSI5* Grand Prix and, of course, also counted for the famous Longines Ranking. In a jump-off for which no fewer than 21 combinations managed to qualify, Allen and Clearround IL Mondo Z once again kept all the bars neatly in the reels and with a chrono time of 37.74 seconds they had a small lead of 7 hundredths of a second over the competition.
Also in this 1.55m class, Brazilian rider Luiz Felipe Neto de Azevedo was one of the prize winners with 12-year-old grey gelding Pandora Boy Z, a breeding product of Luc Heye who combined the blood of Presley Boy with that of Latano I. Neto de Azevedo and Pandora Boy Z also managed a clear jump-off and their finishing time of 39.83 seconds earned them 9th place.
A day earlier in Doha, French rider Simon Delestre was also victorious with his 12-year-old gelding Dexter Fontenis Z, the son of Diarado and Voltaire who was bred by S-Ky Horses S.C.R.I. and with whom Delestre has been a top combination for several years now. In the 1.50m main class, Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z made it to the finishing line in 56.01 seconds, outclassing the competition by over a second and a half.
CSI3* competition
The CSI5* competition undoubtedly attracted the most attention in Doha, but in addition a three-star competition took place in which there was blue/yellow success. On Friday, for example, there was another victory for Austrian rider Gerfried Puck with the 13-year-old mare Equitron Melody Vd Smidshoeve, a daughter of our chestnut stallion Epleaser van 't Heike Z and Thunder van de Zuuthoeve bred by Hugo Stevens. Puck and Equitron Melody Vd Smidshoeve also won a CSI2* Grand Prix in Doha a month ago and this time they were best in the 1.45m class.
Furthermore, French rider Ines Joly also managed to place in this class with the 8-year-old gelding Come On Z, a son of Comme Il Faut and VDL Zirocco Blue N.O.P. from the breeding farm of Jorgen Eriksen. They too kept it neatly clear in both the1st and2nd phases, finishing in 7th place.
Following their two victories last week, there was also another top ranking last weekend for Spanish rider Mariano Martinez Bastida and the 12-year-old stallion Quark de Preuilly Z, a son of Quaprice Bois Margot and Dobel's Cento bred in France by Soc. Fermiere de Preuilly. During the 1.40m speed class on Saturday, they could not be caught out on any faults, securing2nd place this time.
Finally, Liechtenstein rider Jennifer Hockstadter also managed to jump into the prizes with the 14-year-old gelding Tinka's Hero Z, the son of Tinka's Boy and Caretino from the stud farm of Vincent Jourdan and Luc Henry. During the 1.45m main class on Thursday, they placed 6th after a flawless round.