Belgium’s Gilles Thomas had his first five-star win on July 31 when claiming the historic Longines King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead aboard Aretino 13. It was the first time a Belgian rider has lifted the iconic trophy since Jacques Misonne’s win in 1931.
Eight riders made it through to the jump-off for the Grand Prix worth €150,000, with Kelvin Bywater’s cleverly-designed track catching out many of the sport’s leading names. In the second round, Britain’s Robert Whitaker initially led with a fast-four fault round on Evert, before Ireland’s Trevor Breen delivered the first double clear on Gonzalo to move into the top spot. Things then got exciting when Brazil’s Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (Harwich VDL) went nearly 1.5sec quicker to go ahead of Trevor.
Next up was Great Britain’s star Harry Charles, who was hoping for his first victory in the class that his father Peter won in 2009. Riding the experienced 16-year-old Borsato, Harry delivered a brilliant clear round in a time of 51.22sec. But British hopes for a home win were dashed when the Gilles, the last rider to go, shaved an impressive 3sec off the time to take the €49,500 first prize.