Alex Granato Races to Flagler Insurance CSI3* Grand Prix Win at Wellington International
Alex Granato (USA) closed out ESP Pre-Charity week at Florida’s Wellington International by racing to a win in the $140,000 Flagler Insurance CSI3* Grand Prix riding Helios vd Nosahoeve on Sunday.
With record-breaking entries totaling more than 750 horses for the week, twelve nations were represented in the day’s featured event. Nine horses advanced to course designer Hector Loyola’s (PUR) tie-breaking jump-off. Granato, 41, returned with only three to come behind him and posted a formidable time to beat in 42.60 seconds.
“I wanted to establish all my speed early to the triple bar so I could navigate and be patient to the verticals,” said Granato. “From there, I needed to keep the pace through the track.”
Granato stuck to his plan with the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Numero Uno x London) owned by Kisma Equestrian, and bumped current leader Luis Fernando Larrazabal (VEN) to second. Riding Baroness, owned in partnership with Leeann Ablin, Larrazabal settled for the runner-up ribbon in a time of 45.50 seconds.
“His strength is a super consistent attitude,” said Granato, a member of the bronze medal winning U.S. team at the 2019 Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru. “I was trying to keep up with him out there. He’s so bold and brave at the jumps.”
At the start of his partnership with Helios vd Nosahoeve two years ago, Granato felt the horse lacked experience. Now, after seven international wins this year, he has confidence that the horse is a true winner.
“When I took the time to fine-tune him and trust him in the ring, his competitive nature took off,” recalled Granato. “My main focus is going to be to stay consistent at this level and maybe dabble in more four- or five-stars.”
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Alex Granato Races to Flagler Insurance CSI3* Grand Prix Win at Wellington International