ROBERT WHITAKER & VERMENTO SECURE A THIRD WIN IN AL SHIRA’AA KING GEORGE V GOLD CUP
Last year’s winners Robert Whitaker and Vermento secured a third win in the Al Shira’aa King George V Gold Cup on 26 July, on the final day of the Agria Royal International Horse Show.
Not since the great Foxhunter took Harry Llewellyn to a third victory in 1953 has any horse won this title three times. Now Whitaker and Vermento have become the first combination in the modern era of the sport to achieve this feat, winning in 2023, 2025 and now 2026.
Whitaker has also equalled his father tally of wins in this class, with John Whitaker senior taking the title in 1986 (Ryan’s Son), 1990 (Milton) and 1997 (Welham). Robert's uncle Michael Whitaker has won the class four times, with David Broome holding the record with six wins.
Drawn eighth to go in the first round, Whitaker produced the first of the five clear rounds with the 13-year-old son of Argento, meaning he had the unenviable first draw in the jump-off. Setting off round the shortened track, he and Vermento repeated their clear round in a time of 43.34sec to set the target for the others.
Canada’s Nicole Walker and Panter JVH were the next in, and they finished up on the clock in 42.07sec, but a slip going round the edge of the open water altered their rhythm and they knocked down the last fence. Brazil’s Stephanie Maciera was hoping to become the second woman to win the King George since the class was opened up to both sexes in 2008. She produced the only other double clear on Novak De Kalvarie, but crossed the tape more than a second slower than Robert to take second place.
Robert's cousin Jack Whitaker and Jack JL had two down to finish fourth, while Britain’s Nations Cup heroine Jessica Mendoza had to settle for fifth place with Summerhouse.
"To win it three times is incredible, what can I say?" said an emotional Whitaker afterwards. "I didn't have the best draw, having to jump off as first to go. I know this ring is very big and open, and it's easy to knock one down, so I just wanted to do a safe round. To be honest, I thought I was a fraction slow, and when I was clear after the second to last fence, I probably took a bit more time than I should have. But it paid off!"
Whitaker also paid tribute to his long-term owners, Caroline and Stephen Blatchford. "They're fantastic owners, and we've got a lot of horses coming through," he said.
The UAE’s riders had a brilliant start to the day with a one-two in The Breen Equestrian CSIYH1* Final. The winners were Omar Al Marzooqi and the impressive eight-year-old mare Biarritz Z, who shaved 0.93sec off the target set by team-mate Abdullah Al Marri, who finished best of the seven-year-olds with Troy Z.
“I believe in her, she’s exceptional. I think she'll be a super fast mare, and I think she has enough scope to do the top level as well, so I am pretty excited about her future,” said Al Marzooqi.
Today brought the Agria Royal International Horse Show to a close, but the showjumping action continues at Hickstead with the Al Shira'aa British Young Horse Championships, which take place from 13-16 August. Spectator admission and parking is free.
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Edited by HT
Photo by Pauline Ullmann-Davis
Full results here