Bertram Allen and Quiet Easy 4. PC: LGCT / Stefano Grasso
Bertram Allen (IRL) and Quiet Easy 4 were in impressive form on the opening day of the 2017 Longines Global Champions Tour in Mexico City, producing a superb clear round in the two-phase CSI5* 1.45m class to finish over a second ahead of Gonzalo Azcarraga (MEX) and Quite Nice 5.
The talented Irish rider and the eye-catching 13-year-old chestnut gelding made light work of Uliano Vezzani’s 13-fence track, setting a blistering pace around the stunning grass arena at the Campo Marte which couldn’t be beaten. Their closest rivals, Gonzalo and the 11-year-old Quite Nice 5, had the passionate home fans on the edge of their seats as they made a nail-biting challenge for the lead just two competitors later.
Jerome Guery (BEL) and Garfield de Tiji Des Templiers and Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) and Ustina Sitte, who were separated by 0.01 of a second, occupied third and fourth for Belgium, ahead of another Mexican rider, Enrique Gonzalez (MEX) and Quilebo du Tillard.
Fifty-one combinations started the class, where if clear over the first eight fences, they progressed to the timed second phase of the course.
But it was Bertram who blazed around the grass arena to take the opening class of the weekend with his phenomenally speedy gelding, throwing down the gaunlet to the rest of the world class field for the days to come.
The next class will be the GCL Round One, where teams take to the arena for the first time of the 2017 Global Champions League season.
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