RED MILLS rider Bertram Allen has continued his winning run at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, with a victory in Friday’s five-star $37,000 Bainbridge Companies 1m45 riding Lafayette van Overis
The one-round speed competition featured 67 starters but none could beat Allen’s winning time of 63.61 seconds with his nine-year-old gelding (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Tauber van het Kapelhof), owned by Ballywalter Stables.
Allen had almost two seconds to spare over Mexico’s Santiago Lambre who finished as runner-up in 65.15 seconds with Doloris, while Andrew Kocher (USA) finished third in 65.44 with Fashion V.
“He’s incredibly straight forward,” said Allen, who took over the ride on Lafayette van Overis from Britain’s Joe Clee. “I feel like he truly understands what we are trying to do out there. Ever since I got him, he has been impressing me. He wasn’t bought to be the best horse in the world or to jump five-star Grand Prix, but every question he’s asked he does it with ease and is very competitive.”
Allen is confident that Lafayette van Overis is a horse for the future and is continually impressed with the gelding’s speed, saying, “He’s naturally very fast but also very careful so you don’t ever have the feeling that you need to slow him down.
“This has been a great trip so far,” said Allen of his first time in Florida. “We are going to keep trying our best and hope there’s a little luck on our side.”
