Dubai: He led from the front for more than an hour but Fadi Zbibi's undoing came in the last six to go in the Longines Accumulator class as his score was beaten twice in ten minutes.
For every fence they cleared against the clock, riders earned the points that corresponded to the number of the fence.
But for every knock down or refusal, riders had points equivalent to the fence number deducted from their score.
At the final fence (number 10) competitors had the option of jumping either that fence or the joker, a tricky upright set at 1.55 metres which would earn them double points (20). Having the joker down, however would cause 20 points to be deducted from their final score.
Zbibi and his stallion Golden Gun went eighth in the order and put together a neat, fast round with maximum points in a time of 56.65.
He took the lead from the first rider in the competition, the UAE's Adel Khamis, on the French-bred Éclair Day, who also got maximum points but in the slower time of 72.87.
Looked good
Then Zbibi settled in for a long wait and for a while looked untouchable as rider after rider scored good times back had the joker fence down.
But finally Kuwait's Noaf Bin Essa on Uranda B flew round clear in 55.44 to take a late lead.
And Bin Essa, who would have been the first female winner in the competition, looked good for the trophy until Diaa Amr Besheer aboard Oshimi, who were the last but two to go galloped into the ring. Looking like they meant business from the start the horse and rider combination fairly stormed round the course, taking the joker in their stride to finish clear on 53.52 to seal the win.
Bin Essa had to be satisfied with second, while Zbibi, the early leader took third for Syria
In the earlier class, the National Mini Grand Prix, Sulaiman Mohammad Al Anbar and Rawath of the Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Centre emerged top in an exciting jump-off while Emirates Equestrian Centre's Avantus ridden by Alia Bin Drai took second and Abu Dhabi Equestrian Centre's Abdullah Ali Al Shuabi with La Perla were third.
World Cup
In the single round Emirates Equestrian Centre Trophy, Nael Nasser and Amazon of Egypt finished in first with 74.59, the UAE's Hamad Ali Al Kirbi claimed second in 78.62 on Antika Joter and Qatar's Mubarak Al Rumaihi and Saveur de la Cour took third in 81.60.
The final class of the evening on the previous day saw the top 25 riders earn the right to compete for a place in the FEI Equestrian World Cup.
Saudi Arabia's Khalid Al Eid took the top spot with Al Riyadh, Qatar's Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi won second on Romy and Ebrahim Hani Bisharat of Jordan with Pretty Woman 14 was third.
In fourth came another Saudi, Ramzy Al Duhami and Riverstone.
The UAE also put up a good showing with the in-form Abdullah Al Merri and Vallee D'Alezan Van Der Blauwaert taking fifth and another UAE rider, Abdullah Humaid just behind him in sixth with Qautro H.
