A French rider took home the Hermes Gallop trophy for the third year in a row as Maxime Guyon bested the 12 riders of the third Hermes Gallop international jockeys competition at Deauville on Aug. 14.
With one win and one second-place finish, Guyon came out on top of Olivier Peslier as runnerup, with Stephane Pasquier in third place, and Germany’s Andrasch Starke in fourth. The 21-year-old Guyon succeeds fellow Frenchman Christophe Lemaire for the Hermes Gallop trophy.
Participating in this year’s competition from around the world were Japan’s Hiroyuki Uchida, Patrick Smullen from Ireland, South Africa’s Kevin Shea, Corey Brown representing Australia, Mirco Demuro for Italy, Bruno Reis from Brazil and Germany’s Andrasch Starke. France fielded Guyon, Peslier, Pasquier, Gerald Mosse, and Christophe Soumillon.
Guyon collected four points in the event’s first leg, a 1,900 meters over fibersand, with a second-place finish aboard the Bering-sired Captain Courage. A win with Corconte by Sagacity in the second race (1,600-meter race over turf) gave Guyon an additional five points to put him on top with a total nine points. Guyon also rode Kimble to a fifth-place finish in the 2,400-meter third race over fibersand. However, the event rules allow only for points for the best two finishes for jockeys riding in all three races. Five points were allocated for a win and one less point in decreasing order of finish down to one point for fifth place. Each race carried prize money of 35,000 euros.
Peslier’s sum total from a fourth-place and one win (Dansant by Dansili in the third leg) gained him runnerup status. Pasquier finished the competition in third place with one win (Fleur Enchantee in the first leg) and a fourth-place as well. Starke ranked fourth in the final tally after gaining points from a second and third-place finish.
Japan’s Hiroyuki Uchida, riding for the first time in the event, was unable to notch any points. His two mounts, Uncle Tom in the first leg and Good Bye My Friend in the second, finished in 10th and eighth-place, respectively.
The reigning Japanese champion remained upbeat despite his poor showing. "I have really enjoyed riding in two races today although the results weren't that good for me,” the 40-year-old Uchida said. "It was a very memorable experience and I hope I can come back again next year."
The Hermes Gallop was won in 2008 by Gerald Mosse and in 2009 by Christophe Lemaire. Yutaka Take and Yasunari Iwata have joined the competition in the past.
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* Uchida to participate in Hermes Gallop jockey match at Deauville
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