In London, The Mistletoe Stakes, an international 1.50m class run over two rounds and counting for the Longines Ranking, was decided in a blisteringly fast second round. Matthew Sampson secured the home crowd with another win thanks to an amazing round!
Victory went to Britain’s Matthew Sampson with Balento C.S (Balou du Rouet). After two clear rounds, he set the quickest time of the second round in 37.15 seconds.
After his victory, Sampson spoke highly of the competition: ‘It's a fantastic show. They do everything for the riders, for the grooms, for the entire audience. So many thanks to the team, all the grooms, and everyone at home for days like this. We are incredibly proud of this win,’ said the British winner.
Fellow Brit Robert Whitaker took second with Gentlemen vh Veldhof (Quite Easy), also double clear, in 38.46 seconds.
Belgium secured a podium place thanks to Jos Verlooy, who kept Etundel de Marocy (Diamant de Semilly) faultless and finished third in 39.64 seconds. “It was an incredibly good round. Now we just need to work a bit more on our turns and on to the next one,” Verlooy said afterwards.
Just off the podium, Dutch rider Hessel Hoekstra also jumped into the top five with VDL Mindset Es (Aganix du Seigneur). He, too, produced a clear second round and stopped the clock in 39.65 seconds, while Britain’s Tim Gredley completed the top five with the Zangersheide mare Vuitton of Picobello Z (Vagabond de la Pomme) after a faultless second round in 40.20 seconds.
