The podium battle went down to the wire in Riyahd, with the Belgian rider piloting the great stallion Ermitage Kalone.

In a seven-horse jump-off, Thomas and Luna van het Dennehof rocketed home to edge Edwina Tops-Alexander and Michael Duffy.

Gilles Thomas takes his first 5* Grand Prix title with the prestigious George V Gold Cup ‒ also the first for a Belgian rider since 1931.