[Internationalpress Sanpatrignano] CSI San Patrignano - July 31st (the end of the day)

[Federica Luppi]

[Descrizione: carta intestata CSI10 pressoffice]






Press release



GERMAN ACE AHLMANN TAKES THE BIG PRIZE ON THE SECOND DAY AT SANPA



Three nations claimed the top step of the podium on the second day at CSI5* San Patrignano, Italy yesterday (Saturday) where Christian Ahlmann snatched the final honours with a breath-taking speed performance from Perry Lee in the Grande Chasse Mediaset.



The German ace simply devastated the opposition when his 13 year old gelding scorched through the track like a guided missile In a competition that required dare-devil riding if you were to be in with any chance of a top-placing.  He jumped so close to the right wing of the third fence, the Rolex oxer, that he nearly pushed it over, but his plan was to squeeze every fraction of a second off his travel time, and with Perry Lee spending little time in the air it all worked a treat.  However there was no shortage of riders willing to challenge the target of 61.63 seconds which he set at the midway point of the class.



Belgium's Francois Mathy Jnr came closest, although he was still well over a second slower when stopping the clock on 63.20 seconds with Theodoor to claim second ahead of Ireland's Jessica Kuerten and Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois who gave it everything they had but could only earn third spot. The Ukraine's Katerina Offel slotted into fourth with Newton de Vains while Italy's Gabriele Grassi, who has been highly impressive over the first two days of competition, produced a crowd-pleasing performance to finish fifth.  Riding the courageous Irish-bred mare Cruisella, by Cruising, he took a spectacular run to the final fence where he tested her honesty by asking her to take off a long distance in front of the fence.  She didn't hesitate, and as she galloped through the finish the spectators showed their appreciation with a huge roar of approval.



It was Australia's James Paterson-Robinson who took the first red rosette of the day when winning the Tamoil Young Horse Two-Phase event with the seven year old Dasco. Second of the 30 starters into the ring he set the standard with a clear round in 32.54 seconds and could not be caught.  Brazil's Pedro Veniss and Cornet D'Amour, by Cornet Obolensky, lined up second while Finland's Nina Fagerstrom and Touch Down claimed third.  Paterson-Robinson, who hails from Geelong which lies south-east of Melbourne, has been based in Europe for over 10 years now and the 31 year old rider speaks English with an accent that would suggest he comes from Holland rather than "Down-Under ".



He has been working in dealing yards in both The Netherlands and Belgium and is currently competing for Stal Poels in Holland. He was delighted with his good result with Dasko - "he is a nice young horse, although still green, and it was a lot to ask him to come here to San Patrignano but over the last two months he has learned a lot and he is a quality young horse as he showed today" Paterson-Robinson explained.  He is also excited about the forthcoming Australian team selection trials at Hachenburg and Paderborn where the side that will travel to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky will be decided. His top ride is the black stallion Niack de L'Abbaye by Diamant de Semilly - "hopefully we will show our form at the selections - he is a really good horse, he placed second in the Grand Prix at Lummen and again at Hagen, he has had a lot of very good results" he pointed out.  The life of riders working for dealing yards is never predictable as horses can be sold from under them at any time, so Paterson-Robinson is very much hoping that he will get the chance to hold on to this one for a while.



The home runners had it all their own way in the second competition of the day, the Bracco Winning Round.  From the 41 starters divided into 10 groups, just 12 qualified for the second round which turned into an almighty battle.   Fourth-last to go, Gianni Govoni threw caution to the wind and galloped to victory with the gallant 14 year old Aboyeur, pipping fellow-countryman Emilio Bicocchi and Olea by more than two seconds while Holland's Albert Zoer finished third with Samurai. Govoni had an anxious moment however when, last to go, America's Richard Spooner very nearly snatched victory from his grasp with a sensational run from Cristallo who was well up on the clock but hit the last fence and therefore had to settle for sixth place.  "I knew he (Spooner) would give it his all and that his horse was capable of winning but he took the last fence too long and lost it there" Govoni said afterwards.  His success brought the Italian tally at this year's CSI5* at San Patrignano to four wins so far.


CSI 5* San Patrignano Press Office
www.csi-sanpatrignano.org<http://www.csi-sanpatrignano.org>






























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