18 June '25
Calasto Z wins the CSI3* Grand Prix of Le Pin au Haras
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Studbook
© Le Pin au Haras
Last weekend on French soil, a lot of attention went to the glamorous Longines Global Champions Tour of St. Tropez, but in addition, two other international competitions were on the programme. One was the three-star competition of Le Pin au Haras, where the Grand Prix on Sunday had a Z-horse as the overall winner.
Indeed, the victory came in the name of French figurehead Michel Robert and his 11-year-old chestnut stallion Calasto Z, a son of Calvaro Z and Stakkato. Calasto Z was bred in the Netherlands by Hans Schipper and is one of the references of our Zangersheide Quality Auction, where he was sold as a foal in 2014. Michel Robert and Calasto Z already provided a smashing performance in Le Pin au Haras on Friday when they finished 2nd in the 1.50m Grand Prix Qualiflier, but so held their own during the CSI3* Grand Prix itself. The duo stayed clear in the basic round and were thus among the seven combinations that managed to advance to the jump-off. There they managed to repeat their flawless performance and with a convincing finishing time of 45.64 seconds, they were more than one and a half seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
However, Michel Robert and Calasto Z were not the only ones to ensure Zangersheide success at this CSI3* Grand Prix, as2nd place also came in blue and yellow. British rider Jessica Mendoza took care of that with the 9-year-old mare Ascadina PP Z, a daughter of our grey stallion Asca Z and Ginus from the breeding farm of Stal Poppelaars in the Netherlands. Mendoza and Ascadina PP Z also failed to make a mistake twice, but with a finishing time of 47.36 seconds they had to clearly acknowledge their superiority to Robert and Calasto Z's performance.
Besides Ascadina PP Z's second place, there was also success in Le Pin au Haras for an offspring of Dominator 2000 Z. That honour fell to French rider Xavier Hazebroucq and his 9-year-old stallion Don Di Arezzo Z, a son of Dominator 2000 Z and Coriano Z bred by Gilles De Muynck. Hazebroucq and Don Di Arezzo Z competed three times at Le Pin au Haras and also managed to jump into the spotlight three times. They started their show on Thursday with a 3rd place in the 1.35m class and the following days saw a resounding victory in the 1.35m class on Saturday and a 5th place in the 1.35m class on Sunday.
Finally, two other Z-horses also managed to top the leaderboard during the 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier on Friday. These included a 5th place for American rider Caroline Mawhinney with the 12-year-old gelding Carsey Z (Carthino Z x Guidam - B: G.H. & H. Morsink) and a 6th place for French rider Eden Leprévost Blinlebreton with the 11-year-old chestnut mare Barbie de la Roque Z (ex Fantasy de la Roque Z - For Hero de Hux x Heartbreaker - B: Alexandrine Hecart).