Field day for Spain as Gonzalo Busca Roca dominates podium
Spain’s Gonzalo Busca Roca dominated the podium in the $24,999 Grand Prix that closed out ESP June II in Wellington, taking the winner’s slot with Cristiano Obolensky and third place aboard Quicksilver C. He secured the victory in a jump off round lasting 40.526 seconds, a flash in the pan compared to the five hours and 29 minutes it took his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz to come back from the brink of defeat to win the French Open tennis tournament in Paris.
“Both horses did very good in the first round. I jumped first with the stallion, then there were very fast riders in the jump off, so Tanner beat me,” he said of Wellington’s own Tanner Korotkin who finished second aboard Cardozo 4 with a time of 42.855. “And then I was last to go so I had a bit of an advantage. I knew how fast I had to go for the win and I was lucky that we made it happen.”
Gonzalo was in Wellington at this point in the year as he and his wife, Charlie Gordon, welcomed their second child, Noah, to the world 10 days ago. His summer plans include showing in Ocala before returning home for the Fall action.
Both of Gonzalo’s horses are owned by Stransky Mission Farm who he said “have been a great support to me since I came to America four years ago.” Cristiano is a little more seasoned than his stablemate. “He has already jumped 1m55 classes,” said Gonzalo. “He’s a very good horse. I think he would do like a four and five-star level this summer.”
Quicksilver is nine years old, greener, and on the way up. “He’s doing really good. He’s improving a lot. And I think he has a lot of jump. He can jump anything. He just needs a little bit of time,” the Spaniard said.
The grass of the derby field in Wellington will rest now until ESP shows resume in August. It remains a popular venue with riders. “It’s an amazing facility,” said Carlos. “Super ring. Super footing. Super experience for the horses so we are very happy to come here.”
Riding against himself in the jump off – aside from gleaning insight from his first jump off round – Carlos made the most of Obolensky’s strengths. “He is just a little bit more of an experienced horse,” he said. “I can turn a little bit faster and he is also a little bit faster through the air.”
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