Devos rides to big GCT victory in city
Print Edition
PIETER Devos, astride his horse Dream of India Greenfield, was the star yesterday at the inaugural Global Champions Tour Shanghai Grand Prix as the Belgian won the main 1.6-meter event in front of a packed arena in Pudong.
It was the 28-year-old’s first GCT win in his first year on the tour.
“Satisfied is not the right word,” said Devos. “I’m more than satisfied. I’ve a good horse, though we’ve been training together for only 1.5 years. It’s also nice to see so many people, given it’s the first time a Grand Prix is being held in Shanghai.”
Edwina Tops-Alexander of Australia was second. She was the only woman rider to advance to the second round and the following jump-off. Michel Hecart placed third. At 60 years, the Frenchman was the oldest rider in the event.
Thirty-one riders were on the starting list of the first round. There were no real ‘bogey’ fences, but the technical lines and tricky distances came thick and fast causing more than a few top names to pick up penalties. Of the 18 riders through to the second round, 11 carried zero penalties with seven going through on four faults.
Devos won in 42.48 seconds, with Tops-Alexander, riding Old Chap Tame, stopping the clock at 43.12. Hecart, on Pasha du Gu, had earlier set the standard at 45.40 seconds.
Yesterday’s results extended Tops-Alexander’s lead in the Global Championship to 23 points. German Ludger Beerbaum finished fifth yesterday to move up to second on 91 points. Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano is third on 78 points. The fifth leg of the championship is in Cannes, France, next weekend.
In the earlier 1.45/1.5m event, Han Zhuangzhuang, the sole Chinese rider, could not complete his round again as his horse Centaura refused to clear the very first fence. Cassio Rivetti of Ukraine, with Cartoon 2, emerged the winner.
Two more sessions will be staged at the arena in front of the China Art Museum today — 1.45/1.5m Against the Clock and 1.5/1.55m Against the Clock with Jump-Off.
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