The 2020 Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab presented by Longines kicked off in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday. Staged at the beautiful Al Shaqab facilities, some of the world's very best horse-and-rider combinations have lined up for a weekend of top sport. 

Continuing on his winning streak, Julien Epaillard (FRA) – known to be one of the fastest riders in the world – dominated the opening day when taking the top honors in both CSI5* classes. 

Riding Alibi de la Roque (Mylord Carthago x Kannan), Epaillard started the day with a win in the opening CSI5* 1.45m in two phases, with over a second down to Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) on Edinburgh (Vleut x Darco) – who had to settle for the runner-up position. Emanuele Gaudiano (ITA) on Kingston van het Eikenhof (Epleaser van' T Heike Z x Alexis Z) placed third, Jérome Guery (BEL) on Eras Ste Hermelle (Vargas de Ste Hermelle x Andiamo) fourth and Jos Verlooy (BEL) on Fabregas (Zambesi x Libero H) fifth. 

In Thursday's main class, a CSI5* 1.50m against the clock, Epaillard rode Virtuose Champeix (Rubins des Bruyeres x Avec Espoir) to victory. Scott Brash (GBR) on Hello Shelby (Stolzenberg x For Pleasure) took the runner-up spot 0.16 seconds behind Epaillard, while third went to Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) and Dana Blue (Mr. Blue x Hemmingway) that were 1.78 seconds behind the winning time. Kevin Staut (FRA) on Visconti du Telman (Toulon x Dollar du Murier) took the fourth place, and Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) on Fancy Me (Forsyth FRH x Gimbel) finished fifth.