Daughter of Epleaser Van 't Heike Z impresses in Shanghai LGCT Grand Prix

The brand-new Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Centre was the setting for the Longines Global Champions Tour of Shanghai over the past three days, the ^4th round of the current season. Yesterday afternoon's Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix there was of course the absolute highlight of the weekend and in it Swedish rider Angelica Augustsson Zanottelli managed to impress with her 14-year-old chestnut mare Kalinka van de Nachtegaele, the breeding product of Marcel Jacobs and a daughter of the Zangersheide stallions Epleaser Van 't Heike Z and Cicero Z. The Italian track builder Uliano Vezzani and his team had again provided a nice round for this Grand Prix and of the 32 combinations that appeared at the start, seven eventually managed to advance to the jump-off. So one of them was Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli and her Kalinka van de Nachtegaele and they were the penultimate combination to start again. The duo got off to an excellent start in their jump-off and, since at that point only eventual winner Gilles Thomas was only clear, Augustsson Zanotelli and Kalinka van de Nachtegaele seemed to be on their way to a podium finish. Their finishing time of 43.56 seconds was excellent, but as the very last bar rolled out of the rails, they had to settle for ^4th place in the standings.

However, besides the good performance of Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli and the Epleaser Van 't Heike Z sire Kalinka van de Nachtegaele, several Zangersheide horses also managed to jump into the limelight on Chinese soil in recent days. One of them was the 10-year-old mare Come Away Flamingo Z, a daughter of Cardento VDL and Dollar Du Murier bred in France by Alexandra Rantet. Under the saddle of Belgian rider Jérôme Guery, Come Away Flamingo Z already finished ^5th in a 1.45m class on Friday and also had a starring role on Saturday during the first round of the Global Champions League. In this 1.55m class against the clock they stayed clear and this performance earned them^2nd place in the individual standings.

Who also managed a^2nd place in Shanghai was Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas with the 12-year-old black stallion Feromas Van Beek Z, the breeding product of Guido Herrijgers who combined the blood of Fantomas de Muze with that of Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve. In the same 1.45m class on Friday, Thomas and Feromas Van Beek Z managed to ensure a flawless round and with a time of 64.23 seconds they were just under half a second short of victory.