Podium finish for Bertram Allen and Hector in €300,000 Estoril Grand Prix

A fantastic triple clear round from Bertram Allen and the stallion Hector van d”Abdijhoeve, saw them take third place on the podium in tonight’s €300,000 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix at Estoril in Portugal.

Bertram Allen and Hector van d’Abdijhoeve scored a brilliant third place finish in the Estoril Global Champions Tour Grand Prix (Photo Stefano Grasso/LGCT)

A thrilling contest saw seven combinations jump clear over the first two rounds, with a third round jump-off against the clock deciding the final prizes. Allen and the nine-year-old Hector, who was one of the youngest horses in the competition, produced a third spectacular clear (one of just three in the contest) to finish just over a second behind Italian winner Piergiorgio Bucci and Casallo Z.

Allen and Hector van d”Abdijhoeve, who is owned by Noel Delahunty’s Connaught Bloodstock, had finished one spot outside the podium places in the Madrid Global Tour in May and their third place finish in Estoril netted the pair €45,000.

Italy’s Piergiorgio Bucci collected a cool €100,000, with Australia’s Edwina-Tops Alexander finishing second with Lintea Tequila.

Bertram Allen now holds fourth place on the overall Longines Global Champions Tour leaderboard, with just three rounds remaining before November’s final at Doha in Qatar.