The Santa Stakes continued the world-class action at the Excel, with crowds once again treated to impressive displays of skill and horsemanship. To proceed to the jump-off and keep their winning hopes alive, riders needed to remain faultless over Bernardo Costa Cabral’s testing first-round course. Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts was the first to do so and was quickly followed by Tim Gredley, a regular on the British FEI Nations Cup™ team. Neither Scott Brash nor Ben Maher could produce the rounds they would have hoped for, however, much to the delight of the home crowd, FEI Young Rider European Individual Gold Medallist Oliver Fletcher joined the exclusive list of riders who would proceed to the second round.
In total, seven combinations advanced to the shortened course and re-entered the arena in the same order as the first round. First into the International Arena, Philippaerts set the standard with a time of 34.00 seconds. Both British riders, Tim Gredley and Oliver Fletcher, produced faultless jumping rounds but could not match the pace set by the Belgian. The remaining combinations also fell short, and so Philippaerts claimed his first victory at the Show, with Gredley in third and Fletcher claiming fourth. Philippaerts said: “It’s very satisfying, I didn’t really know what to expect as it’s only my second class with her, but she was placed yesterday in the big class, and today also, so I am very very happy about it. She is very quick over the ground and I think that’s what made a difference. It’s the first time I have won a class here so I am very happy with it – it’s a great crowd so I am delighted with the win today.”
