As many as nine combinations qualified for the jump-off of the 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Wellington. In the end, Christian Kukuk raced to victory with Checker 47.
"Wow," is Kukuk's first reaction. "I didn't fully risk the jump-off. I didn't want to turn too short towards the wall so that I could tackle the two following obstacles a little more smoothly. And there I could save the necessary time. I was lucky that Checker really worked with me."
"It's my first time in Wellington. It means a lot to me that I was able to win this class. I can only be proud of my horse. A nice extra... I was able to beat McLain," laughs the German.
Together with the 14-year-old Comme Il Faut offspring, Kukuk held off McLain Ward by less than one second. Kukuk was the last to start in the jump-off. And took the risk of approaching the heavily built Oxer from the inside. When The wood stayed in the spoons, he pushed McLain to second place.
McLain followed with the Dutch-bred Ilex (Baltic VDL, breeder: G. Maris) in second place. Karl Cook and Lorenzo de Luca's former Kalinka van 't Zorgvliet completed the top three.
A total of five duos kept it clear. Together with Ladriano Z (Lawito), Daniel Bluman followed ahead of Olympic champion, Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly (Cap Kennedy 2)