New Grand Prix victory for Fantasio Floreval Z

Day by day one month after their victory in the CSI2* Grand Prix of Opglabbeek, French rider Cédric Hurel and his Fantasio Floreval Z added another Grand Prix to their record last weekend! The successful duo appeared domestically at the start of the three-star competition in Royan, where they once again took the cake and took the top prize.

The CSI3* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon at the Royan Horse Club was the absolute highlight of the weekend, bringing a total of forty-four combinations to the start. The 1.50m base run proved to be a particularly tough task as only four combinations managed to qualify for the jump-off. In it, the lead was once again Cédric Hurel and his 16-year-old gelding Fantasio Floreval Z, the son of Florian de La Vie and Clinton bred in France by Evelyne Pater.Hurel and Fantasio Floreval Z, who had also been good for ^5th place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test on Friday, also put in a flawless performance in the jump-off and with a convincing finishing time of 40.07 seconds, they had a street-length lead over the remaining trio!

But the silver in this CSI3* Grand Prix of Royan was also taken up by a Z-horse thanks to British rider Joseph Trunkfield and the 9-year-old chestnut gelding Corvette vh Reukenis Z, a son of Cicero van Paemel Z and VDL Corland out of the Reukenis Stables BVBA breeding farm. Trunkfield and Corvette vh Reukenis Z, also ensured a clear round at the bar, but with a finishing time of 43.71 seconds they had to clearly acknowledge their superiority to Hurel and Fantasio Floreval Z.

In that Longines Ranking Test on Friday, Hurel's compatriot Edouard Chauvet secured a podium finish with the 14-year-old mare Zia Mia De La Bonn Z, a daughter of Zandor Z and Voltaire from the breeding farm of Frenchwoman Elise Bonnaud. Chauvet and Zia Mia De La Bonn Z showed no faults in this class against the clock, with a ^3rd place final result.

Also on Friday, Royan also enjoyed a blue/yellow victory thanks to Frenchman Jeremy Le Roy and the 8-year-old grey mare Cornets Blue de Léau Z (Cornet Obolensky x Mr. Blue) from the Degeneffe family's breeding farm at Hof Ter Leeuwe. Le Roy and Cornets Blue de Léau Z were the overall winners of the 1.35m class, where they narrowly beat the competition with a clear round in 30.84 seconds. Silver in this class was for Tony Hanquinquant and the 10-year-old gelding Cronos du Railly Z (Chellsini Z x Live du Theil - breeder: Mickael Noel). They too left all the bars neatly in the scoops, but needed 31.03 seconds to complete their round.

On Thursday there was also a blue and yellow victory in Royan. In the 1.35m class, it was home rider Axel Delord who was the winner with the 12-year-old mare Kiss Me Devis Z (Kannan x Marius Claudius - breeder: Bruno Perrin). Again, they jumped directly against the clock and with finishing times of 70.91 seconds, they were more than half a second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors.

Finally, there was also a podium place for Nicolas Layec with the 10-year-old gelding Georgio Louvo Z (George Z x Quintus - breeder: Yves Berlioz Scea Berlioz). Indeed, in the 1.40m class on Saturday morning, Layec and Georgio Louvo Z took^2nd place after a strong and clear round.