Richard Vogel Shines with Gangster Montdesir in Fidelity Investments® Grand Prix
Three of the world’s top ten climbed atop the podium in the $500,000 Fidelity Investments® CSI5* Grand Prix, under the glimmer of Saturday Night Lights at Wellington International. Leading the way, World No. 6 Richard Vogel piloted up-and-coming mount Gangster Montdesir to win the first of four five-star events at the 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). WEF hosts 12 weeks of FEI competition, running through March 29, in Wellington, FL.
Vogel showcased a new star in Gangster Montdesir, stopping the jump-off clock at 42.65 to take the victory by three-tenths of a second over British Olympic Champion Ben Maher aboard Enjeu de Grisien. At only 10 years old, Gangster Montdesir—the Selle Français owned by Karlswood Partners—is coming off a five-star grand prix win in Lyon last October and added a second on Saturday.
“It’s a very exciting addition to my string,” said Vogel of the Kannan x Cornet Obolensky stallion. “He arrived last September—so a new partnership—but right away I had a super feeling with him. He always wanted to do a good job from the very first show. I couldn’t wish for anything more than how he jumped tonight and how he was fighting for us.”
Of his winning jump-off round over 2024 Paris Olympic Games course designer Gregory Bodo’s (FRA) track, Vogel said, “I could stay on the gallop, and I think that’s what saved me; I didn’t have the tightest turns but kept the flow everywhere to stay in rhythm.”
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