With no less than fifteen cleared riders in the first round, among them nine who realized the double-clear that gives access to the jump-off, the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix du Prince de Monaco offered some great sport.
John whitaker, riding Argento (with whom he won the Grand Prix of Hong-Kong in February) quickly took the lead (28,43 secondes) ahead of the Quatarien Sheikh Ali Bin Khalid Al Thani and the American Jessica Springsteen.
The public really believed that the British legend would make it. But it wasn’t reckoning with the tenacity of the unbeatable current world number one, Scott Brash, and his mare Hello M’Lady, who ended their round in 28.45 secondes.
Longines Global Champions current title holder and already winner of the leg in Miami, Brash said of Hello M’Lady, “She is a phenomenal horse, she is young, only 9, so she is unexperienced but she is fantastic. Whenever my owners come, I seem to win so they must be my lucky mascot. They need to come more often.”
Beaten for the second time of the day (Brash and Hello Annie had won the speed class ahead of John Whitaker and Ornellaia this afternoon), Whitaker joked, “I think I just need more experience. It’s ok if I don’t win, because my horse jumped amazing, you need to know how to lose. I was just really cautious on the last fence so that, that’s where Scott got me. But I can’t complain, for my age it’s not that bad!”
The Italian Emanuele Gaudiano, who went last in this jump-off, ended up in third.
After this seventh Monegasque leg, Brash is getting closer to the lead of the provisional ranking of the Longines Global Champions Tour, which is held by the Luciana Diniz. All the best riders and horses of the world are now expected at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, next weekend, from July 3rd to 5th, for the Longines Paris Eiffel Jumping, eight leg of this prestigious circuit.
See full results here.
More from Horse Sport:
