Brazilian victory for Bernardo Alves in the Morocco Royal Tour CSIO4*-W Rabat Prix
The Prix SAR Princess Lalla Amina, second stage of the Grand Prix of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, was the most important individual competition of this CSIO of Rabat. A class run on the scale of a Grand Prix in two rounds. Sixty-six riders were at the start, seventeen could qualify for the second and decisive round on a course designed by Alan Wade. The Irishman is a regular on the sunny arena as he built last winter the courses of the Palm Beach Masters Series.
This event is particularly international with the five continents represented and the victory will finally be a battle between the two most distant lands from Morocco, Brazil and New Zealand, mediated by Saudi Arabia. Olympic New Zealander Bruce Goodin, who, riding his Dutch gelding Backatorps Danny V, was the first to set the tone for a second round that had a tendency to purr. Nobody seemed to dare to take the risk of winning. Former Mark Todd's team-mate (at the time when the late also shone at the Olympic level in jumping) was the first to play the game completely by signing a time of 41”84. The answer of Bernardo Alves and his gray stallion, the Belgian El Torreo de Muze, did not wait long, clearly improving the New Zealand time of 1 "37. The Saudi Abdullah Alsharbatly (on Larry 210), reputed not to drag along the way when he rides a jump-off, has tried to tackle the clock of the Brazilian: in vain, he missed him 45 hundredths!
"El Torreo de Muze is not especially a horse made for speed. It's a Grand Prix horse, of course, but in a jump-off, it's still not fast enough. But I like winning and when I'm in a jump-off, I want to try my luck to the end. I was already lucky that this arena is very large that suits my stallion who has a great stride, but more, I decided to do the last line in seven strides instead of eight which was a madness, but it worked out and this was the first 4 * Grand Prix of the horse”! It was almost five years since we had not seen the Brazilian champion at this level: "It is a return that I particularly enjoy, it is true that I was a time long out of the circuit. El Torreo de Muze is currently my only horse; it belongs to Joris de Brabander who is a true friend. Now, I hope to find new sponsors who trust me, maybe here in Morocco. In any case, this circuit is really wonderful”. Two-time Olympic rider, three times in the Brazil team at the World Championships, five times at the Pan American Games, with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals, winner of the Preis von Europa in Aachen (“so far my most important achievement”), Bernardo is a regular at major events ... he may find back the way to such an event next year at the Olympic Games in Tokyo: "El Torreo de Muze has the capabilities, he is only 9 years old. The work with Philippe Guerdat, here for the first time, has been fruitful and gives me good hopes for Tokyo, but the road is still long "... And it will first pass by the Nations Cup in Rabat this Sunday!