Press release from Morocco Royal Tour, edited by World of Showjumping

Under the spotlight of the Royal Guard Tétouan, at the first stage of the Morocco Royal Tour 2025, Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano and Crack Balou (Balou du Reventon x Chacco-Blue) delivered a flawless performance, outpacing a top-level international field over a challenging course designed by Cédric Longis (FRA) in Saturday’s CSI4*-W 1.50m Prix de Dakhla.

“I hadn’t won a class yet this week, despite two second-place finishes, so I was really looking forward to this victory,” Gaudiano said. “I have four very good horses for this Tour, and we try to preserve them as much as possible over these three weeks of competition. Today, I gave my best, and it paid off. With so many clear rounds in the first round, I took some risks in the jump-off, especially on the second, and finished strong on the last fence. I will keep doing my best in the next stages, but first there’s the Grand Prix tomorrow. It’s always a real pleasure to be here. Of course, we are motivated by the world ranking, so we try to give our best at every stage.”

Alix Ragot (FRA) and Gueule d’Amours (Contendro I x Narcos II) – 3rd the previous day in the 1.50m qualifying class – finished a strong second. “It was a very enjoyable course to ride, like all of Cédric Longis tracks. The ground was excellent, and there were many riders in the jump-off. I tried to stay fast, but on the last fence, I preferred to ensure a clear round,” he said.

The third place went to Abdulrahman Alrajhi (KSA) and his horse Ventago (Van Helsing x Hunter’s Scendix), fourth to Ethen Ahearne (IRL) on LVS Goldrush H (Stakkato Gold x Arko III) and fifth to Adam Grzegorzewski (POL) aboard Issem (Quality Time TN x Clinton).