Mariano Martinez Bastida & Belano vd Wijnhoeve Z Beat “Favorites” to Win the Grand Prix of Deauville CSI 4*

By Jumper News on 14 14America/Sao_Paulo August 14America/Sao_Paulo 2023

Deauville, France – August 13, 2023 – Mariano Martinez Bastida (ESP) was considered by many one of the less likely riders to win the feature class of the week during the 2023 Longines Deauville Classi CSI 4*, nevertheless, the Spaniard surprised them, overcoming several of the favorites to win the €97,800 Longines Grand Prix of the Region of Normandy CSI 4* on Sunday at the Pôle international du Cheval Longines – Deauville.

**Mariano Martinez Bastida** (ESP) & **Belano vd Wijnhoeve Z**

At the time, standing in the one hundred and forty-seventh place in the Longines world rider ranking, the forty-year-old Spaniard stole the spotlight with Belano vd Wijnhoeve, overcoming five other combinations who had advanced to the tiebreaker with them. Bastida bested them with the 14-year-old bay Zangersheide gelding (Berlin x Darco), doing so in flawless fashion, being timed in 39.98 seconds.

Winner of the €100,000 Grand Prix de La Ville de Chantilly CSI 4* last month, Laura Kraut (USA) came close to earning her second major victory on French soil in a short span of time. This time, she rode her faithful partner Confu (Contact Me x Cambridge), securing the second spot on the podium in 41.23 seconds.

Another major prise was the third position conquered by Alexandr Imschenetzky (CHI) and Caspaccio (Cassini II x Carpaccio), the only other duo to register two penalty-free performances in the 1.55m contest.