MANSUR IS THE MASTER OF THE ROLEX GRAND PRIX OF ROME AT PIAZZA DI SIENA
On an afternoon full of unexpected twists and turns, Brazil’s Yuri Mansur and his brilliant mare Miss Blue-Saint Blue Farm galloped to victory in the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome in Piazza di Siena, part of the Rolex Series Equestrian.
The pair produced some real magic to pin Ireland’s Cian O’Connor on Iron Man into runner-up spot in a thrilling 12-way second round that left spectators on the edges of their seats to the very end.
And the final day of the event was a day for the young stars to also shine; 25-year-old Frenchwoman Nina Mallevaey finishing a hugely impressive third with Dynastie de Beaufour while 22-year-old Irishman Seamus Hughes Kennedy lined up in fourth with ESI Rocky.
Ace Italian course designer, Uliano Vezzani, didn’t make it easy for them. But neither did the weather-gods as a gust of wind blew down the planks at fence six in the first round when Giulia Martinengo Marquet was on her approach with Delta Del’Isle. A member of the course design team was putting it back in place as she rode down to it, so she had to turn away while the clock was stopped and the crowd gasped in disbelief. However, the true professional that she is, the Italian star brought her gelding home quickly to make the cut into the second round despite a fence down later on the course.
QUALIFIED:
Three four-faulters qualified for round two including Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and Leone Jei who went clear this time out to set the early standard in 36.39 seconds. Martinengo Marquet followed by shaving off more than a second but left one fence on the floor to bring her tally to eight.
However, Hughes Kennedy set a whole new target with his second clear of the day in 36.78 seconds with the 10-year-old ESI Rocky who carried him to Team and Individual gold at the European Young Riders Championship in 2023, before his considerably more experience compatriot O’Connor overtook him with a great round from Iron Man in 35.76 seconds.
Mallevaey, recently crowned French National Champion, followed with her foot-perfect run in 36.35 but it would be Mansur, third-last to go, who would relegate them all with a ride full of confidence that saw his mare through the timers in 35.65 for the win.
PROUD:
He is very proud of Miss Blue, his partner at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“This is a mare from Brazil, she didn’t have any experience when she left there but in three years since 2022, she has given me my best wins. And I feel it’s just the beginning, we’ve had some bad luck with health problems but now she is well again and she is doing an unbelievable job”, said the 46-year-old rider who hails from Sao Paulo and whose own rise in the sport has been something special.
From a family with no background in horses, he only rode for the first time at the age of 14, and he credits his success to the opportunity he received when going to work with Belgium’s Ludo Philippaerts as a rider and groom.
“He helped get me started…so a big part of my journey came through Ludo. I bought a barn in 2017 in the Netherlands and now it is home for us”, he explained.
He admitted that things didn’t go quite as planned in the final’s jump-off however.
“What almost made me lose was when I spoke with McLain Ward and he told me to start from the right for number one. And then at the last moment I changed to the left, and I didn’t get a good shot to number one so I added one stride and that meant I had to risk as much as I could! I had planned seven strides but I did eight from fence one to two, and that made me just risk as much as I could in the rollbacks. I had two really blind distances but I kept following and we worked it out!”, said the rider who celebrated his 46th birthday yesterday.
LEADING RIDER:
Second-placed winner O’Connor, who took the Master d’Inzeo Award as Leading Rider of the Show, was delighted with his horse Iron Man.
“He’s very special, he has a huge canter and a huge heart but he’s quite sensitive about everything. I started to ride him last September and it took me a while to get used to him. We probably didn’t click straight away. Even at the start of this year in Florida we had some rounds where we didn’t quite know each other, so I dropped him right back down to small classes, like 1.30m, and I built him back up. And the last six Grand Prix classes he’s jumped in a row he’s been double-clear. He hasn’t much experience against the clock and he’s such an expressive jumper, he’s not maybe as quick as some of the others because he takes his time at his fences but that’s something we’re working on. Maybe we’ll catch this fellow (Mansur) in Aachen!”, he added with a grin.
Malleavey is super-talented, and during the final she was quietly enjoying her arrival at the centre stage of international showjumping. She has had an extraordinary run of form over the past year and more.
“I’m really enjoying this time. I have amazing support, I have a huge team that does a lot for me and it’s all thanks to them”, said the young lady who began her career under the tutelage of French Olympian Julien Epaillard and who is now under the guidance of Helena Stormanns. She looks to have a spectacular career ahead of her.
HOPING:
“Today I was just hoping to be clear”, she said modestly. “I know I have an amazing horse that is really generous. We did our first 5* Grand Prix about a year ago and I think we have built a great relationship together. It’s my first time here in Rome and since the beginning of the week she’s been enjoying that arena and loving to be here. This was a dream of mine to come here so I’m very, very happy!”, she added. And she may well be hoping to compete at the next leg of the Rolex Series Equestrian which will take place at La Baule in France on the 8th of June.
Mansur meanwhile has now become only the second Brazilian rider to place his name on the Roll of Honour of the prestigious Grand Prix of Rome, following Rodrigo Pessoa who came out on top with Let’s Fly in 2009.
--ENDS--
Edited by HT
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Watch Mansur's winning round here
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