France’s Julien Epaillard claimed victory in the CSI5*-W 1.55m feature class presented by Gruppo Selleria Equipe at Jumping Verona. Stopping the clock in a blistering 62.53 seconds, the French speed demon outpaced a formidable line-up to take top honors over the direct-against-the-clock course.
Riding his home-bred 13-year-old gelding Donatello d'Auge (v. Jarnac x Hello Pierville), bred by S. Epaillard Garcia Cereceda, Epaillard laid down an unbeatable round that left the rest of the field chasing shadows.
Fellow countryman Simon Delestre secured a French 1-2 finish aboard the 13-year-old Hanoverian mare Crazy Daisy 13 (v. Chacco-Blue x Graf Top), bred by Joachim Schwarze, stopping the clock in 63.12 seconds to take second place.
Germany’s Daniel Deusser completed the podium in third position with the 13-year-old BWP gelding Navarro van het Eelshof (v. Jappelloup vh Dauwhof x Poleander), bred by W. & T. Mertens, crossing the timers clean in 63.60 seconds.
World Number One Richard Vogel (GER) took fourth place riding the 8-year-old gelding Cherano 3 (v. Cascadello x Heraldik) after a clear round in 65.96 seconds, while Sweden’s Wilma McMahon wrapped up the top five aboard the 15-year-old mare Cicci BJN (v. Ci Ci Senjor ASK x Tornesch) with a time of 66.51 seconds.
