2016 has just begun, but Gregory Wathelet has had time to record no less than three victories already - his third one coming in Leipzig on Friday aboard Eldorado van het Vijverhof. Last week, the Belgian rider won two five-star classes in Basel and today he did it again in the 1.50 feature class in Leipzig that also counted as a qualifier for Sunday's World Cup - this time riding the 12-year-old stallion by Thunder Van De Zuuthoeve x Omar.

Wathelet had over a second down to runner-up Sergio Alvarez Moya, another rider that has showed good form at the beginning of the year, riding his faithful partner Carlo 273 (Contender x Cascavelle) to an early lead in the class as second to go stopping the clock at 57 seconds. The riders who came after all chased the Spanish rider's time, but nobody could catch him until Gregory entered the ring over twenty riders later and shaved off 1.28 seconds on Sergio's time making it look easy. 

Great Britain's veteran Michael Whitaker finished third on the now 14-year-old Viking (Jacomar x Almox Prints), while Ireland's Dermott Lennon was fourth and Netherland's Harrie Smolders fifth. 

Earlier in the day, Egypt's Karim El Zoghby won the 1.45 Preis von J.J. Darboven on Colour Gilr (Cormint x Locato). 

Text © World of Showjumping // Picture © Jenny Abrahamsson