The 5* main class in Riyadh tonight was convincingly won by Abdel Saïd! The Belgian with Egyptian roots steered the 12-year-old chestnut mare Arpege du RU (Apache d'Adriers) to a glorious victory by finishing almost three seconds faster than the competition.
Of the 31 combinations at the start of this 5* main class of the day, six were eventually able to keep the clear over the technically built 1.50m course. In the saddle of the Selle Français mare Arpege du RU, Abdel Saïd needed just 69.73 seconds to rush to the top of the leaderboard, putting him well ahead of the competition. Latvia's Kristaps Neretnieks sent the Holstein gelding Quintair (Quintero) to silver in 72.49 seconds, half a second ahead of Omer Karaevli of Turkey and the French stallion Avant Toi (Flyinge Quite Easy 958).
Two Dutch-bred horses completed the places just off the podium. Abdulrahman Alrajhi placed fourth for the organizing country of Saudi Arabia in the saddle of the KWPN gelding Bravour (Namelus R), followed by Mohammed Ghanem Al Hajri of the United Arab Emirates and the NRPS gelding G's Fabian (Gaillard de La Pomme).