Edited press release from Brussels Stephex Masters

Riding the 14-year-old gelding Finn Lente (Gaillard de La Pomme x Colandro), José Maria Larocca became the first Argentinian in 50 years to win a five-star Grand Prix when he topped Sunday's CSIO5* 1.60m €500,000 Rolex Grand Prix presented by Audi at Brussels Stephex Masters. 

In the Rolex Grand Prix of Brussels – a part of the inaugural Rolex Series – the top 12 from the first round returned for the second round. Peder Fredricson (SWE) and Alcapone des Carmille (Diamant de Semilly x Heartbreaker) were the first pair to deliver a double clear and they held the lead until vice-Olympic champion Steve Guerdat (SUI) and Dynamix du Belheme (Snaike de Blondel x Cornet Obolensky) galloped through the finish-line half a second faster, taking the lead.

However, José Maria Larocca had carefully studied the rounds of the two before him and took all the risk, finishing 0.07 seconds faster than Guerdat to claim the win. The top three finished within 42 seconds and the difference came down to fractions of a second.

Olympian José Maria Larocca was over the moon, and it showed. As the winner, he sat between Guerdat and Fredricson at the press conference. "Between my two idols," the Argentinian beamed. "Do you know how honored I feel? I’ve looked up to these two masters of our sport my whole life. And now, here in Brussels, for the first time in my life, I’ve won a 5* GP. That alone is a dream come true. To win against Steve and Peder makes it even more surreal. There couldn’t be a better place to win my first 5* than here at the Stephex Masters, and against such superstars," Larocca laughed. 

Fredricson, who has previously won a Rolex Grand Prix both at Knokke Hippique as well as at the Brussels Stephex Masters, was satisfied with his third place. "I’ve been riding Alcapone for a year now, and in a 5* GP jump-off, everything needs to be perfectly in tune," he said. "I’m happy with how we performed. I went early in the second round, and in hindsight, there’s always room for improvement. I now know that I could have taken one less stride, but maybe I wouldn’t have gone clear then? I’m a good sport and happy to take home bronze." 

"As a Rolex ambassador, you don’t want to miss these competitions," Steve Guerdat said. "They uphold the highest standards, both in and out of the sport. This was also Dynamix’s first competition after the Olympics, and she was well-rested. It was a close call in the second round, but that’s the nature of the sport, and I’m happy for José Maria Larocca."