Posted: Friday, December 16th, 2011
Ben Maher was deemed favourite to win, but he made an early exit when Noctambule Courcelle hit the first warm-up fence. John Whitaker was next out, retiring Casino after jumping the first round clear.
Laura Renwick retired Parvati de Breve after three rounds and Geir Gulliksen (L’Espoir) and Laura’s second ride, Roller Coaster, went out in round 4 at 6ft 11in
Pius, a former world number one, was a late entry, but the shrewd money would have gone on him, for he has won several puissance competitions on the continent on Koby du Vartellier.
“My horse tends to get better from the third round on,” he warned, adding: “This is such a great show to jump at. The crowd and the commentators are fantastic.”
When Pius jumped clear in the fifth round, his horse just nudging a brick with his hind leg, Guy knew what he had to do. Keeping a remarkably cool head in the high-octane atmosphere of a packed house at Olympia, he had the grey Richi Rich lll beautifully back on her hocks to clear the imposing wall with inches to spare, thus scoring a first victory in this contest.
It was the culmination of a good day for Guy, who earlier won the speed class, the Talk Talk Mistletoe Stakes, on the young mare Djakarta, spearheading a British one-two-three from Scott Brash on Sebastian and the previous day’s speed class winner, Ben Maher on Milena.
“She’s a bit green, but she’s the sort of mare who likes to run and jump rather than be ridden slowly, and she’ really good at jumping verticals,” explained Guy of the eight-year Dutch-bred who was produced by Kevin Cooper. “She’s so careful and fast.”
19-year-old Spaniard Manuel Anon had the thrill of a lifetime when winning the Earls Court Olympia Christmas Cracker.
Riding Rackel Chavannaise, Manuel shaved a quarter of a second off the time of the vastly more experienced runner-up, German supremo Marcus Ehning on Sabrina.
It was the biggest class of the weekend so far with 34 starters and 13 went through to the jump-off, including the reigning European Champions Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and Ninja la Silla, seventh.
“I have wanted to come to Olympia since I was a little boy,” said Manuel, who was Junior European Champion in 2008. “This is like a dream come true.”
In one of the great Olympia traditions, the Ryan’s Son Trophy, presented by Clare and John Whitaker to a great contributor of the sport, went to perennial steward Frank Grunnill.
