Nayel Nassar of Stanford, California proved that a 3,000-mile trip across the U.S. was well worth the effort when he rode Lordan to a hard-fought victory in the fourth-annual Zoetis $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties, taking home $350,000.
Nassar, who rides for Egypt, and the nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding he piloted to the coveted victory were one of only three riders to crack Olaf Petersen Jr.’s course. “I can’t believe this – it’s very surreal, but this horse has been on a roll lately,” said Nassar who is a senior at Stanford University in California and will soon graduate with a degree in Economics. Upon graduation he plans to ride professionally for Egypt in the U.S.
Coming off a big two weeks on the West Coast, Nassar and Lordan were the second pair to ride clear. New Zealander Sharn Wordley of Ocala, Florida and Ashland Stables’ Derly Chin De Muze posted an early clear round in the third trip of the order, but crossed the timers just fractions over the 83-seconds time allowed for one time fault. Twenty-one rounds later, Nassar put together the winning formula with a fault-free ride in 82.76 seconds. He was later joined by Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, Florida who guaranteed a two-horse jump-off with his own Quality Girl.