Jerome Guery and Alicante. Ph. Jessica Rodrigues
Belgium’s Jérôme Guery will long remember his first 5* Chantilly. Already a winner on Friday in Chantilly, France of the Prix French Tour Generali, he returned early Sunday afternoon to contest the prestigious Master Airbus Group presented by Equidia Life with Tal Milstein and Ilan Ferder’s talented grey stallion Alicante (Casall x Indoctro).
This second Grand Prix of the Jumping International of Chantilly is always an amazing class. On Friday when he won the Prix French Tour Generali, Guery promised that Alicante was “a horse that we will more see at top level even if there are a lot of things to improve.”
It didn’t take long for him to show more proof of that when he beath Germany’s Hans-Dieter Dreher and his gelding Théodore Manciais time of 37.31 seconds in 36.62.
“While it’s not the first five star of my career, it’s my first in Chantilly on a field I’ve always loved,” Guery said. “France is a wonderful country, I love it, I love to ride here because we feel that the crowd supports us; maybe because we are kind of neighbor. So a win here, in this Master Airbus Group, feels really good.”
So, this is a first success for Alicante in a Grand Prix at this level, a horse who is apparently a quick learner: “Indeed, it has been only six months that I ride him and every show, he gets better,” Guery revealed. “In Hamburg, we had two down in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix, and in Madrid last week, we ended only with 4 faults, and I felt he was improving. Here, where he was clean, I felt that he was ready to give me some more. On Friday, I prepped him with the speed class, and two days later he finished with the best time in a Grand Prix jump-off. It’s a risk I was not ready to take after his clear of the first round, and giving me this victory, he showed me he has well listened on Friday. I think it’s good for the future, we will have a lot more wins together.”
See the complete results list here.