A very bitter Rolex Grand Prix for the Azzurri that took place yesterday in Piazza di Siena. The proud reaction on Friday – three clear runs in the second heat of the Intesa Sanpaolo Nations Cup – had given rise to hopes for some important results in yesterday’s Rolex GP too. But of the 9 Italian pairs qualified for this prestigious and selective test, none gained admission to the second round. To which, of the 48 starters, the best 13 had access: in the end only 6 of those 13 managed to repeat the clear, and among these the fastest was the American Karl Cook on Caracole de La Roque, a very hot and lively female sèlle-francais of 12 years, who even in the final part of the course did not show the slightest fatigue, literally flying over the obstacles and sensationally led by her rider, who “resolved forward” even a couple of potentially critical distances. And this certainly also made him gain in speed, therefore on the clock.
Cook and Caracole thus swept the field, beating a real star like the Austrian Max Kuhner (Electric Blue P) and the always feisty Swede Petronella Andersson (Odina van Klapsheut). Three others finished without errors, in order: the British Stockdale (Equine America Cacharel), the other Austrian Puck (Equitron Naxcel V) and the Emirati Al Suwaidi (Concetti Vd Heffink). In 15th place with an error on the base course, therefore out of the second lap by a couple of positions, was Giulia Martinengo (Delta de L’Isle), best of the Azzurri. Then, with the same score, in 23rd place Nico Lupino (Iniesta).
With two errors at the “base” in 29th Piazza Garofalo (Gasphar), in 32nd Pisani (Oliver van’T Heike) and in 38th De Luca (Curcuma Il Palazzetto). With three errors in 41st place Ciriesi (Cape Coral) and 42nd Grossato (Cash du Pratel). Zorzi (Cortez van’T Klein Asdonk Z) and the other Garofalo (Conquestador) retired.
Complete success, however, on an organizational level: 56 thousand attendances in 4 days (+12% compared to 2023), turnover of over 4 million, the conquest of very young people thanks to social media, entry into the Rolex Series circuit and a foundation on the way for make the site usable 365 days a year. A curiosity: the Italian rugby coach Gonzalo Quesada played in the polo tournament in Piazza di Siena, also winning the fair play award.
