Janika_Sprunger_CSI_Leipzig_2011_Tif.jpg-680x1024Switzerland’s Janika Sprunger and Uptown Boy (Odermus R x Joost) won yesterday’s qualification for the first leg of the DKB-Riders Tour in Hagen. The four star 1.50 class had 57 riders in it, and there were six double clear rounds. The super fast Swiss rider had a time of 35.53 seconds in the jump-off, with Albert Zoer coming closest at 36.07 seconds aboard Sam (Calvados x Ahorn Z). Home rider Jan Wernke was the best German in the class, and ended third on Queen Mary 10 (Contendro I x Caretino). 25 year old Janika was grateful about Uptown Boy’s cleverness after the class after the gelding did some good jumping over the final oxer. "There was a little misunderstanding on the penultimate fence, as we didn’t get a perfect stride so the distance to the last oxer wasn’t ideal. But Uptown Boy solved it himself,” said a happy Janika. The daughter of the former Swiss top rider Hansueli Sprunger is after her win yesterday the last rider out in the Grand Prix on Sunday; "I'll watch some of the riders go, but in any case Marcus Ehning," revealed Janika. The Deutsche Bank AG Grand Prix on Sunday is the first stage of the DKB-Riders Tour 2013. Some of the best riders will be at start, such as world number one Christian Ahlmann, the Tour winner from 2012 Luciana Diniz, the defending champion from Hagen last year Katrin Eckermann, Marcus Ehning, Janne Friederike Meyer, Carsten-Otto Nagel, and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum. Friday was clearly Gregory Wathelet's day; the Belgian rider started with ending second in the 1.40 class for young horses on Sea Coast Forlap Dc (Querlybet Hero x Heartbreaker), then he went on to be third on Riesling du Monselet (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Laeken) in the 1.40 class, before he won the 1.50 class on Baloudana (Baloubet du Rouet x Carthago)! © Press release from comtainment.de -photo: equpics.com