Edited press release from Longines Global Champions Tour
It was Julien Epaillard (FRA) who captivated the crowd with his home-bred Donatello d'Auge (Jarnac x Hello Pierville) to win the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of St. Tropez.
In the fastest jump-off of the season, which consisted of six horse-and-rider combinations, last to go Christian Kukuk (GER) and Mumbai (Diamant de Semilly x Nabab de Reve) had to settle for second place just 0.44 seconds behind the blistering Frenchman who crossed the finish line in 38.40 seconds.
Epaillard's compatriot Simon Delestre (FRA) put two home riders on the podium when taking the third place with Dexter Fontenis Z (Diarado x Voltaire) after stopping the clock at 39.32. As the two last in the top five, Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) finished fourth with H&M Legend of Love (Landzauber x Corgraf), followed by Edwinad Tops-Alexander (AUS) and Fellow Castlefield (Je T'Aime Flamenco x Twister) in fifth.
"Donatello has won two days here, and it is incredible to win here in front of a home crowd," Epaillard said after his victory. "This horse is just fantastic, the atmosphere at this show is amazing and this is one of my best victories I think."
Commenting on the fact that his last LGCT Grand Prix victory was in 2019, Epaillard said: "It’s not so easy to win a Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix. We work every day for this, so when this happens, we can enjoy it. Watching the last part of the jump-off was a long one for me, with lots of dangerous riders coming anything could happen. To qualify for the LGCT Super Grand Prix is special and we will do our best to make sure we are in the best form."
A beaming Simon Delestre smiled: "It’s really amazing to be here, I always enjoy to be here in St. Tropez – it is a very special show. Dexter has had an amazing start to the year. He was second and third in Doha, and now still third, so it’s very positive for the rest of the season, I can only be happy with this result."
After the fifth stage of the 2023 Longines Global Champions Tour, Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) leads the series with 135 points, ahead of Abdel Said (BEL) on 109 points.