John Whitaker walked away from a nasty looking fall from Sultano while competing in the Estoril grand prix at the weekend.
After a record-breaking 23 riders went clear in the first round of the competition, Frank Rothenberger’s second round course caused considerably more problems, with both John and Ireland’s Cian O’Connor parting company from their mounts along the way.
Britain’s Tim Gredley with Omelli and Ben Maher on Robin Hood both produced four-fault rounds, while only four riders managed to produce double clears. The remaining British rider, Robert Whitaker, finished on eight faults with Casino.
Daniel Etter was first to go in the jump-off but it had all got a bit much for Admirable who had three of the seven fences down. Leopold Van Asten (VDL Groep Santana B) produced a smooth and efficient clear from second draw, putting the pressure on Clarissa Crotta (Westside V- Meerputhoeve), who had one rail, and Luciana Diniz, who picked up eight faults with As-taro.
Leopold Van Asten was delighted to win. “This is an expensive sport and I can certainly use this week’s winnings (around €150,000) on the yard,” he said.
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