
For European riders, the third leg of the Morocco Royal Tour in El Jadida marks a smooth transition from the summer season to indoor competition under the best possible circumstances. For example, on a track worthy of the finest arenas on the World Cup circuit. The first day of this return to indoors featured two “appetizing” events, while the serious business begins tomorrow with the qualifying round for the 4* Grand Prix.
This premier evening began with a Moroccan victory, where Yassine Abidi won the Prix QREQ-Qatar. It may have been a 1.25m class (Table A chrono), but that doesn’t mean it was simple, not when this week’s courses are designed and built by Italian Maestro Uliano Vezzani and his Moroccan assistants. A technical challenge no doubt, Abidi, riding his Bagheera d’Blinière, took full advantage of the course to win by almost two seconds over compatriot Majid Djaidi (Korino van den Muggenhoek). An impressive gap over 400 m!
The opening 4* event was a “two-phase” where 64 combinations were entered. Some, as is customary, used this event to get their leading horses acquainted with this first indoor of the season, like the winner of the Rabat Grand Prix, Ramzy Al Duhamy, who clearly gave his formidable Untouchable S a warm-up ride. Yet others came to play the game, such as Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano, who began his El Jadida stage the way he ended his 2023 Grand Prix: with a victory. Whatever the event, the rifleman has only one goal: to win.
It’s exactly what he did on Thursday, making it look easy with Jaja: “Yes, he’s comfortable over 1.40m, and he was fast enough to beat 63 competitors. It was a pretty fast test tonight, and I’m obviously very happy with this start. It’s always a bit tricky to make the transition from outdoor to indoor—I hadn’t done one since the end of last winter—and that’s another positive aspect of this win,” said Gaudiano, whose secret was perhaps having his 11-year-old daughter ride Jaja. “In any case, she’ll ride him again tomorrow morning!”
The Italian had just managed to overtake a highly inspired and, above all, extremely motivated Moroccan: Abdelkebir Ouaddar, who posted a breathtaking round with the daughter of the horse of his life Quickly de Kreisker. The 12-year-old bay Ceika Malouine finished third after the Belgian Thierry Goffinet had intruded on second place with Quick Diamant R, encroaching upon Gaudiano’s time, but ultimately falling twelve hundredths short.
See you tomorrow at 9.45 a.m. for the 1* competitions and 1.45 p.m. for the 4* events at the beautiful Salon du Cheval in El Jadida.
RESULTS
PRIX QREQ- Qatar, CSI 1*, 1.25 m, barème A chrono
37 starters and 12 classified
1) Yassine Abidi, MAR – Bagheera d’Bliniere 0/55.25, 2) Majid Djaidi, MAR – Korino van den Muggenhoek 0/57.19, 3) Julie Anne Verneuil, FRA – Real Music 0/59.23, 4) Luiz Felipe Neto de Azevedo, BRA – Nelson de Moha Z
PRIX PEUGEOT, CSI 4*, 1.40 m, two phases
63 starters and 16 classified
1) Emanuele Gaudiano, ITA – Jaja 0-0/32.80, 2) Thierry Goffinet, BEL – Quick Diamant HR 0-0/32.92, 3) Abdelkebir Ouaddar, MAR – Ceika Malouine 0-0/33.41, 4) Rikke Belinda Barker, DEN – Pico Hcc 0-0/34.79, 5) Abdullah Alshar
About the Morocco Royal Tour
Three exceptional sites, three four-day stages, all 4*, for the thirteenth edition of the Morocco Royal Tour, taking place between September 19, 2024, and October 6, 2024. Created in 2010 on the “High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI” and directed by Prince Moulay Abdallah Alaoui, President of the Fédération Royale Marocaine des Sports Équestres (Royal Moroccan Federation of Equestrian Sports), the MRT grows from year to year, confirming its place as a major competition on the world equestrian calendar, under the aegis of the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).
▪ The circuit kicks off in Tetouan, from September 19 to 22, at the superb facilities of the Garde Royale. A magnificent venue with “permanent” facilities: majestic grandstands and superb stables decorated in traditional Moroccan style.
The Rabat show, from September 25 to 29, is held at the technically impeccable facilities of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Equestrian Sports, whose flagship event is the Moroccan Nations’ Cup, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but also featuring a prestigious 4* World Cup Grand Prix on Friday.
The final leg in El Jadida, from October 3 to 6, is an indoor event with a sports program like that of Tetouan. It also provides an opportunity to discover the Moroccan Horse Exhibition (Salon du Cheval d’El Jadida), undoubtedly the most important on the continent, and where the flagship class of the circuit, the Grand Prix de Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI de Saut d’obstacles, is held.
Media Contact
Pascal Renauldon
p.renauldon@rbpresse.com
WhatsApp au Maroc +33 6 08 75 94 07
Adèle Renauldon
adele@rbpresse.com
WhatsApp au Maroc +33 6 50 05 69 34
By Press Release