Bertram Allen and Lafayette van Overis. Photo © Sportfot.

Wellington, FL – March 11, 2020 – Ireland’s Bertram Allen clinched the $37,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45m CSI3* riding Lafayette van Overis to open the tenth week of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, FL on Wednesday, March 11.

Allen continued a streak of 1.45m victories at WEF with another win over tracks set by course designer Michel Vaillancourt (CAN). Seventy horses contested the two-phase course, but Allen and his quick gelding could not be caught. They stopped the clock at 32.68 seconds, which proved to be less than a half a second faster than runner-up Natalie Dean (USA) riding Ceitasi.

“He was very relaxed, and straight away won this easily,” said Allen of his Ballywalter Stables-owned mount. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to go full speed, but because it was a two phase, I could see how he was feeling and he felt very good.

“He is so naturally fast,” continued Allen. “There were people doing more galloping or less strides, but I did not want to do that with him today. I thought I would do as good a round as I could, and see where that left us. Because he’s so fast, he was able to get out on top.”

For full results, please visit www.PBIEC.com.