World No 1 Scott Brash MBE and the 13 year-old bay gelding Hello Sanctos owned by Lady Pauline Kirkham and Lady Pauline Harris finished third in the 1.60m CSI 5* Basel Grand Prix which took place on Sunday in Switzerland.
From a field of 44 starting combinations, 15 jumped clear in the first round to go through to the second round, in which just five combinations jumped clear again for a place in the jump-off. Three treble clears were produced in total, which meant that it came down to the clock to decide the final line up. With just over a second separating the top three, it proved to be a tight competition.
The fastest treble clear came from the Portuguese combination of Luciana Diniz and Fit For Fun, an 11-year-old chestnut mare, after they crossed the finish line in 29.20 seconds. Just behind them was Brazil’s Marlon Modolo Zantoelli with the 11-year-old dark bay gelding Extra Van Essene. They produced their third clear in 29.88 seconds. Scott and Hello Sanctos’ third round was secured in just 30.45 seconds to give them not only a spot on the podium but also winnings of over 40,000 euros.
Results:
1st Luciana Diniz & Fit For Fun (Por) - 0/0/0 - 29.20 seconds
2nd Marlon Modolo Zanotelli & Extra Van Essene (Bra) - 0/0/0 - 29.88 seconds
3rd Scott Brash MBE & Hello Sanctos (Gbr) - 0/0/0 - 30.45 seconds
4th Gregory Wathelet & Conrad de Hus (Bel) - 0/0/4 - 28.28 seconds
5th Piergiorgio Bucci & Casallo Z (Ita) - 0/0/12 - 32.17 seconds