John Whitaker wins Vilamoura CSI3* Grand Prix
Sunday 28 February 2021
Todays CSI3* Atlantic Tour Grand Prix at Vilamoura drew to a finish this afternoon with John Whitaker, from Huddersfield West Yorkshire, heading the presentation line up having claimed the victory in his inimitable style
From the forty-six starters it was seven that came forward for the jump-off having jumped clear in the first round. The 1.50m course had certainly asked a lot of the competitors which saw eleven retire and many notch up penalties into the double figures.
For John and the 13 year-old Unick du Francport, that he owns with wife Clare, it was an outstanding performance from the master himself that saw him stop the clock in a time of 36.43 seconds. Their time proved fast enough to ensure they could hold off any other rivals with their closest coming in the form of Marc Bettinger (GER) with Undercover Z who took eventual 2nd with their time of 37.01 ahead of Juliette Faligo (FRA) and Arqana de Riverland who finished 3rd.
Piergiorgio Bucci (ITA) took 4th whilst home rider Luciana Diniz (POR) took 5th. Following them was fellow Brit Lily Attwood with her mother Emmy Freeman-Attwood’s 11 year-old Karibou Horta. It was a 4 penalty finish for them in the jump off but their time was enough to put them ahead of Gregory Cotard (FRA) who finished on the same penalties but in a slightly slower time.
Results https://bit.ly/2MBj1v6
 c. Majestic Photography.jpg "James Smith Dominates in the Penultimate Winter Grand Prix at Aintree Winter Classic Show")
