Wathelet wins, Great Britain’s Maher and Brash in Top 5 in Shanghai Grand Prix

Indeed, after the first three stages in Mexico City, Miami Beach and Shanghai, Peebles, Scotland native Brash is leading the series rankings with 99 points, followed by Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander (72) Germany’s Daniel Deusser (72), Shanghai winner Wathelet in fourth (71) and Maher in fifth (63).

Maher and Brash were 2012 Olympic gold medal team-mates in London, and this weekend in Shanghai the two were among the 12 riders to make it through to the tie-breaking jump-off round at the city’s China Art Palace site, on the 9-year-olds Explosion W and Hello Shelby respectively. Both rode clear rounds again, but no one – including Deusser and Tobago Z in third – could match the speed of Wathelet and his 12-year-old grey mare Coree, who have also won the prestigious Grand Prix at the CHIO in Aachen, Germany together.

“I knew I had to take all the risks and she jumped amazing,” said Wathelet of his partner, as the 19th-ranked rider in the world received the third ticket handed out to date for the Longines Global Champions Super Grand Prix in December, which is open to Grand Prix winners throughout the year. Brash, the winner in Mexico City, and Tops-Alexander (in Miami Beach), have also secured spots in the Czech Republic. Commenting on the victorious pair’s speed this weekend in China, Deusser admitted that, “Even if I could try a couple of times more I’m not sure if I would beat Gregory.”

For his part, Brash added: “I’m absolutely delighted with my horse Hello Shelby today. He’s a young horse, so I wasn’t expecting too much today, so to finish double clear and fifth in Shanghai, I’m delighted. It’s still early days though [in the title race], so I’m not getting too ahead of myself.”

The global CSI 5* Show Jumping series heads next to Europe, with a stop in Madrid from May 4-6. The team-based Global Champions League will also continue in Spain, after Maher and Emily Moffitt led the London Knights squad to victory in China – with the team also taking the lead in the overall standings ahead of Valkenswaard United and the Prague Lions.