Niels Bruynseels & Gancia de Muze at the 2017 Brussels Stephex Masters. ph: Brussels Stephex Masters
Just like last year, home hero Niels Bruynseels won the €300,000 Rolex Grand Prix presented by Audi at the Brussels Stephex Masters on Sunday, September 3, 2017.
The 33-year-old Belgian rider rode the 11-year-old mare Gancia de Muze (Malito de Reve x Nimmerdor) to victory. This was the pair’s second win this weekend, winning the 1.50m competition on Friday night. After jumping two clear rounds and producing the fastest jump off of the competition, the duo were again unbeatable in today’s 1.60m grand prix
“Of course, it does something to you,” said Bruynseels. “I know a lot of people here, I live only 15 minutes away – so I have been stopped quite a few times over the last days with the question if I was going to win today,” he smiled. “Needless to say, I really wanted to win!”
Nine riders qualified for the jump-off after producing clear rounds over Uliano Vezzani’s 13 fence track. The Rolex triple combination was the biggest heartbreaker of the course. Several of the horses rushed, and did not reach the back pole on one or both of the oxers jumping out.
The jump-off course was shortened to seven fences, and Vezzani made use of the entire main ring. Coming in as fourth to last in the jump-off, Niels got a perfect flow right from the start. Almost lifted on by the crowds on the last stretch, the Belgian rider crossed the finish line to take the lead in 35.36 seconds.
For 2nd place, France’s Simone Delestre and Hermes Ryan finished in 36.18s. In 3rd, Leopold van Asten and VDL Groep Beauty finished in a time of 38.03s.
For the full results, visit this link.