© Filippo Gabutti for HUBSIDE JUMPING.
Frenchman Julien Epaillard, in the saddle on his Usual Suspect d’Auge gelding, won the major event of the day at the HUBSIDE JUMPING in Grimaud (Var). He is ahead of the young Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (Brazil) associated with Icarus, and Christian Kukuk (Germany) on Botaro.
“This week, Queeletta was penalized by a small 4 points yesterday in the 150cm race with jump-off, and Quincy, who usually runs the 140, will come out tomorrow for the Grand Prix: in view of this test, his schedule was deliberately quiet for the last few days. As for Usual Suspect, I have downgraded him a little. He raced the Grand Prix 4* a fortnight ago and we had a little incident: he left a stride before on an oxer. Last weekend, I engaged him in small tests to restore his confidence. He ran a 140 on Thursday: I found him quite relaxed; he had forgotten our mishap a little. Today, he did a magnificent first lap. I found it great, available, very relaxed. I am happy to see that this incident did not leave too many consequences. But this is the reason why I decided to downgrade it weekend, so that he continues to regain confidence.
“The big event of the day had a large number of roadblocks: it happens. It is not easy for the track chief to build a 145 barrage with the plateau that there is here, with horses which normally are very comfortable on this height. Even the slightly tricky triple did not give mistakes… The weather was fairly wide, and even if it had been tight, given the size of the track, we would always have found a place or two where to save time. Really, I maintain that the job of the track manager is not simple at all, who must respect the rules of 145 while the plateau is worthy of a 150, 155, or even a 160.
“In short, the results of these weeks are very positive. The horses are fine; they have all had different programs. Kzoom ran his first 5* Grand Prix last week: I am really satisfied even if we still have to get to know each other a little. I make a mistake on the last obstacle because I don’t know it well enough. Regarding Queeletta, I started really quiet, and we will race the Grand Prix tomorrow. I think the mare is not yet at 100% of its potential, so the Grand Prix will be more of a restart. I do not set myself any obligation of result. Especially since we must already think about the important deadlines to come, and in particular Barcelona, if the competition is maintained, which is an important objective of the season. ”
The CSI 2* event, on 140cm with jump-off, was won by the youngest of the competition, Eden Leprévost Blin Lebreton, sixteen, on Quivoila. Eden is ahead of a certain Pénélope Leprévost, reigning Olympic champion with the French team, and also her mother.
Reactions from all the winners here.
All tests are transmitted live on https://grandprix.tv/fr.
The press kit can be downloaded here.
Daniel Koroloff – E-mail: daniel@blizko-communication.com