London, England – December 16, 2021 – Martin Fuchs (SUI) was definitely the star of the day during the opening day of the 2021 The London International Horse Show CSI 5*-W at ExCel London on Thursday. The fourth ranked rider in the world teamed up with Tam Tam du Valon and the The Sinner to claim top honors in two FEI classes there. First, the Swisss rode The Sinner to first place in the feature class of the day, the €27,000 The Santa Stakes CSI 5*-W. He closed the day by guiding Tam Tam du Valon to another win, this time in the €25,400 The Pudding Stakes CSI 5*-W.
A total of 26 combinations entered the ring for the €27,000 The Santa Stakes CSI 5*- W, all ready to challenge Guilherme Jorge‘s (BRA) 1.50m course, with 12 of them advancing to the jump-off. In the end, three different nations would be represented on the podium with the Swiss and Luigi Baleri’s 13-year-old bay Oldenburg gelding (Sanvaro x Landgold 3) securing the win after a penalty-free performance in 32.84 seconds.
Max Kühner (AUT) and EIC Coriolis des Isles (Zandor x Tlaloc M) gave the eventual winners a run for their money, earning reserve honors by finishing only nine-hundredths of a second off the mark set by the eventual winners.
The difference between the latter two and third-place finishers, Christian Ahlmann (GBR) and Solid Gold Z (Stakkato Gold x Calvin Z), was even tighter. Just two hundredths of a second separated the duo from the neighboring nations of Austria and Germany.
Final Results – €27,000 The Santa Stakes CSI 5*- W
1) Martin Fuchs (SUI) & The Sinner – 0 / 0 – 32.84
2) Max Kühner (AUT) & EIC Coriolis des Isles – 0 / 0 – 32.93
3) Christian Ahlmann (GBR) & Solid Gold Z – 0 / 0 – 32.95
Text: Jumper News, no reproduction without permission
Photo: © London International Horse Show / Horsepower
Categories: CSI 5*, English, Jumper News Schweiz
