Katharina Offel blitzes field to win Speed Challenge in 64.61 seconds
German native grabs lion's share of US$82,000 after slicing one-hundredth of a second off Devaleau's time
Watched by her six-year-old son Leopold, Katharina Offel drew first blood at the Longines Hong Kong Masters when she won the bigger of the two events on the opening night - the Speed Challenge - upsetting many more fancied names, mostly men to boot.
Offel rose to the challenge laid down by Frenchman Patrice Delaveau, the first of 18 riders competing for the US$82,000 total prize money, who completed the 14 obstacle course at the AsiaWorld-Expo in a blistering 64.62 seconds.
That time seemed to intimidate riders who followed, as many fell short or were handed two-second time penalties for each fence knocked down.
But Offel, riding 11-year-old mare Olivia de Nantuel, was more than up to the challenge as she breezed around in a flawless display to beat Delaveau by the narrowest of margins - one-hundredth of a second (64.61).
"I was a bit lucky in the end to win by such a narrow margin," said Offel. "I rode the same horse in Paris [last December] and it was six seconds slower than the winner's time, but that result gave me motivation and the belief I could win."
Originally from Germany but representing Urkraine since 2005, for whom she has flown the flag at the last two Olympics, Offel, ranked 34th in the world, will have the psychological high ground as the Hong Kong Masters enters its second day on Friday. The climax on Saturday is the Longines Grand Prix where most of the US$1 million prize money (US$700,000) will be on offer.