“I’ve had him since he was eight years old and he’s always been a great horse,” Derbyshire said of the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Con Air x Cambridge) owned by Gochman Sport Horses LLC. “For some reason, in the last six months we’ve gotten fast. The pair has won two grand prix qualifiers in the past two months and capped off the week with the horse’s first grand prix victory.

One of nine to jump clear over Catsy Cruz’s (MEX) first-round course, Derbyshire sped to a time of 38.73 seconds in the tiebreaker to take the win. Just off the pace was Margie Engle (USA) and Dicas, and Casall and Ali Wolff (USA) rounded out the podium in 40.12 seconds.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,'' Derbyshire continued. “He’s jumped double clear in lots of grand prixs but was always third or fourth. He used to be a little cheeky and could run out so I always tried to play it safe.