Simon Delestre Wins €1.5 Million LGCT Grand Prix in Monaco

you're listening to an article from horse sport.com. simon delestre wins €1.5 million lgct grand prix in monaco by: horse sport staff |. one word: charged. monaco lit up saturday, july 5 as simon delestre and the sensational cayman jolly jumper stormed to victory in the €1.5 million longines global champions tour grand prix du prince de monaco, delivering a performance worthy of the most dramatic finales. a total of 40 qualified riders stepped into the spotlight, ready to take on a formidable track crafted by renowned course designer uliano vezzani. his clever design, packed with questions and distractions, proved decisive ‒ with 12 riders emerging faultless from the opening round to make it through to the jump-off. (canada was represented by one rider, kyle timm, who placed 23rd riding casino calvin in the large field.). advertisement scroll to continue with content in front of a sold-out crowd lining the iconic port hercule, delestre threw caution to the wind, blazing to a jump-off time of 32.06 seconds ‒ a full 1.84 seconds faster than his closest rival harry charles with sherlock. kim emmen delivered an exceptional round aboard imagine n.o.p., claiming a well-earned third in the podium celebration. held under the patronage of hsh prince albert ii of monaco as he watched on from hospitality, the eighth longines global champions tour grand prix of the 2025 championship drew a star-studded guest list blending the worlds of motorsport and equestrian excellence. spectators lined the edges of the compact arena, creating an atmosphere that was nothing short of electric ‒ monaco style. the stylish crowd added glamour to the evening, strolling past superyachts and along the portside red carpet, while fans leaned into the railings for an up-close view of the stars of the sport in action. set beneath the iconic prince’s palace, the magical floodlit arena delivered on every level. among the distinguished guests were sar la princesse caroline and madame charlotte casiraghi awarded the trophies alongside benjamin manoukian of longines communication france. “what can i say about this horse, he is truly amazing, he’s a legend and it’s amazing for me to ride a horse like him… i have no more words to say how good he is.”… an ecstatic simon delestre tried to put into words what this win meant for him to gctv. he went on to add, “winning here is a dream, it was my objective for this season ‒ we tried to plan, but to make it makes all the difference.”. speaking after his second place finish, harry charles said of maikel van der vleuten, “i asked him ‘if the four was on’, as i think only him and simon did it, so looking back i would’ve done five… i wasn’t even in the ring when i took off ‒ but sherlock had a big enough step and he trusted me, so thanks to him it paid off.”. kim emmen’s eyes were on the clock and she couldn’t be happier with her third-place finish. “imagine jumped great, and also in the jump-off he was just two seconds off the time of simon, so i was so happy. it was a very tough class with a lot of clears, but really it rode super and it was challenging enough.”. as for the championship? a shakeup is on our hands. led by unshakable young gun gilles thomas, but the jump-off contenders in monaco cement themselves inside the top 5. 1st gilles thomas – 183 pts 2nd simon delestre 158.2 pts 3rd andreas schou – 126 pts 4th denis lynch – 112.2 pts 5th pieter devos – 105 pts. after an action-packed june and july, the longines global champions tour now pauses for a brief mid-season reset before charging ahead to london for the ninth stage of the 2025 championship. with the pressure mounting and every point counting, the battle for the title is set to escalate as we enter the decisive stretch of the season. watch the winning ride here:. full results here. ~ with files from lgct media.