Juan José Bancalari Elmudesi gets help from a friend
Confidence was high in the bleachers above the Derby field as Juan José Bancalari Elmudesi and Cascais HC were last to go in the jump off for the $24,999 Grand Prix that closed out ESP Spring 4 at Wellington International.
“I knew he was going to win,” said Juan José’s friend and business partner, Dominic Dipino, who was in town from the Dominican Republic alongside Juan José’s father Juan, to lead the cheering. “I called him this morning and said, ‘Champ, how are you doing? Today’s your day.’”
Juan José’s jump off time of 37.518 seconds gave him the win ahead of Portugal’s Bruno Diniz Das Neves and Gucci Musterd’s time of 38.502. Thirty entries took to the grass Derby field for the Grand Prix in the fourth of five shows in the ESP Spring Series. Brazil’s Gabriel De Matos Machado and Lezaro took third place with a time of 38.502 in the 14-strong jump off that produced nine clears.
Going last against the clock gave Juan José plenty of time to formulate a plan. “I had a chance to see a few, so there was an advantage there,” he said. “I had good foot speed with her so I could take a little bit of a chance and it worked out well.”
It was the first Grand Prix win for 10-year old bay mare Cascais, who was born and bred in the Dominican by Dominic. “I’ve been able to bring her up to the Grand Prix level, and she’s been fantastic,” said Juan José, who has ridden the mare since she was five. “I’m looking forward to the next steps with her.”
Juan José plans to show Cascais in Tryon, Ocala and potentially Kentucky towards the end of the summer. “She’s been doing the two stars very well so I will hopefully take her to the three star level a little later on in the year,” he said. “It’s her first Grand Prix win, but she’s been placing, she’s been in the top three and four and five, so she was knocking on the door and today we’re top.”
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