Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano, one of Morocco Royal Tour’s most loyal riders, has won a respectable number of classes in Tetouan over the last ten years (as last Thursday and Friday with Jaja), but he has never won the Grand Prix. This is now the case, thanks to his powerful 10-year-old Belgian stallion Nikolaj de Music.

Thirty-five pairs were at the start, which meant that nine of them were in with a chance of winning the second round. The debate was almost exclusively European, with only Morocco’s Vincent Zacharias Bourguignon getting in on the action with an excellent clear round from his very young Zangersheide gelding, Junius Vd Heffinck Z. A perfect round that was only to be penalized by two point time penalty, which in any case ruled him out of the battle for victory. This was to come down to the seven clear rounds of the first round, with three Italian riders in the mix. Statistically, the Squadra Azzurra had the best chance of winning. And the facts proved it. The first of them, Roberto Previtali (Conthargo-Blue), signed the first clear round of the second leg, setting the tone. But would his time be enough? Belgium’s Cyril Cools and Germany’s Andre Thieme proved him wrong. The last Italian cartridge, and the last to go in this second round-jump-off, Emanuele Gaudiano then came to put Northern Europe to rights with his athletic son of Kannan, leaving Cyril Cools and Milton Z (a grey horse, it goes without saying) almost two seconds behind him! “I made the difference mainly between the penultimate two obstacles where I asked Nikolaj to take four strides, whereas the others took five, and then I went very fast to the last fence,” explained the Italian, who paid tribute to Nikolaj. “He wasn’t an easy horse. I’ve been riding him since he was 4 years old, and he’s indeed very strong, but now he’s a good 4 and 5* horse, and this isn’t his first 4* Grand Prix victory.”
 
This Grand Prix was particularly pleasant to watch, very fluid, with few faults actually, but subtly distributed over the entire course. “When I design a course,” explains Olympic course designer Gregory Bodo. “I take into account the horse line-up, of course, but here I also had to take into account the large crowd, which reacted strongly and brought this event to life for each horse. My idea was to propose a World Cup course, a Grand Prix designed for the horses in forward movement, with a concern to protect them. It was a course that was open to everyone, and the proof is in the number of 4-faults courses.” [Twelve exactly, editor’s note]

First Polish victory in Morocco
 
Earlier in the day, the Grand Prix 1* de la Garde Royale saw the first Polish victory on Moroccan soil. The winner is 25-year-old Warsaw-born Adam Grzegorzewski with the 7-year-old Holsteiner gelding Dark Fire (by Darcodello), and above all this victory is part of a more ambitious plan. “The Polish team qualified in Prague for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and I’m here to prepare it. I need to gain experience and consolidate my level, and that’s why I’m taking part in the three stages of the Morocco Royal Tour,” he said. He also took part in the recent FEI European Jumping Championships in Milan where Poland finished thirteenth. The young Pole also finished sixth in the Prix de la FRMSE, a 1.50 m winning tour world rankings class counting  won by Swiss rider Elian Baumann ahead of Simon Delestre: he’s definitely on the right track!
 
In four days time in Rabat, at the Dar Es Salam — headquarters of the Federation — the second leg of this exciting edition of the Morocco Royal Tour will take place.

Victory in Tetouan and Paris 2024 in sight for young Pole Adam Grzegorzewski. Photo © R&B Presse – Adèle Renauldon

RESULTS TOP 5
 
GRAND PRIX DE TÉTOUAN S.A.R LE PRINCE HERITIER MOULAY EL HASSAN
CSI 4* – 1,50 m – Grand Prix Coupe du monde en 2 manches
 35 Participants et 12 Classés
 
1) Emanuele Gaudiano, ITA – Nikolaj de Music 0-0/39.33, 2) Cyril Cools, BEL – Milton Z 0-0/41.15, 3) Andre Thieme, GER – Conacco 0-0/41.41, 4) Roberto Previtali, ITA – Conthargo-Blue 0-0/42.85, 5) Barbara Schnieper, SUI – Canice 0-0/43.21
 
GRAND PRIX DE LA GARDE ROYALE
CSI 1* – 1,40 m avec barrage
38 Participants et 12 Classés
 
1) Adam Grzegorzewski, POL – Dark Fire 0-0/34.49, 2) Zakaria Zoundi, MAR – Dahmaniah 0-0/37.58, 3) Fouad Larhrissi, MAR – Dean Martin 0-0/37.71, 4) Mykola Pylypeiko, UKR – Carbaron 0-0/38.10, 5) Mohammed Nizar Souktani, MAR – Deus d’Herbiers 0-0/38.25
 
PRIX DE LA F.R.M.S.E
CSI4*-W – 1.50 m (LR) -Winning Round
29 Participants et 12 Classés
 
1) Elian Baumann, SUI – Hold Up Di Vico P. 0-0/37.15, 2) Simon Delestre, FRA – Crack d’Aiguilly Z 1-0/38.62, 3) Bart Clarys, BEL – Oscar Van Spieveld 0-0/38.75, 4) Katharina Rhomberg, AUT – Dinadja 0-0/39.44, 5) Ines Joly, FRA – Pegasus Dawsons Flex 0-0/39.78,
 
 
Complete results HERE

MEDIA CONTACTS
Pascal Renauldon
p.renauldon@rbpresse.com
WhatsApp au Maroc +33 6 08 75 94 07

Adèle Renauldon
adele@rbpresse.com
WhatsApp au Maroc +33 6 50 05 69 34

By Edited Press Release