Filip de Wandel of Pennsylvania and his horse Gentley earned their first win of 2016, topping a competitive class in the $30,000 Nutrena Grand Prix at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Sunday, Jan. 3.
De Wandel and Gentley impressed in the first grand prix competition of 2016 at PBIEC, crossing through the jump-off timers in 42.866 seconds to take top honors. Emanuel Andrade of Wellington showcased immense talent around the jump-off track, finishing in second and third place aboard ZZ-Top VH Schaarbroek Z and Boy IV, respectively.
Gentley, a 2006 Belgian Warmbood gelding was bred by de Wandel’s father, Antoine de Wandel, in Belgium, and began his career with Filip de Wandel at the young age of three. The seasoned duo mastered the track, completing a solid first round before dominating the jump-off. The pair also rode to a top three finish in the $10,000 UHealth Ear Institute Open Stake on Thursday, Dec. 31, taking second place honors.
“When I walked the course, I thought it was big enough for a pre-circuit grand prix and was set at a very good height. I was doing this class with him as a warm-up class for the WEF circuit, and it worked out really well for us,” de Wandel said.
Andrade made a valiant effort to catch de Wandel’s time, finishing in 43.318 seconds aboard ZZ-Top VH Schaarbroek and 45.616 seconds on Boy IV, but settled with a second and third place in the class of 32 entries.
De Wandel explained that Gentley has a strong talent for maintaining speed in jump-off rounds, especially when there are significant galloping stretches throughout the course. “His strengths are in the jump-off rounds,” he said. “This jump-off suited him very well because there were a lot of places where you could gallop. On him, you can just continue to gallop and he will keep jumping well.”
The partnership formed between the pair in their seven-year tenure together has been proven with several successful results this season at the grand prix level. Earning their first ever career grand prix win together at PBIEC, de Wandel was elated with Gentley’s performance on Sunday afternoon.
“He’s 10 now, and I’ve had him since he was just three years old. It’s been a very special partnership for us,” de Wandel said. “He has been doing the grand prix classes very well this year. He placed at the Hampton Classic over the summer, and he has brought home a lot of ribbons, but we never were able to get a win. It feels great to start this circuit off with a win under our belts.”
With their first win in hand, de Wandel plans to use Gentley throughout the 2016 Winter Equestrian Festival circuit and is hopeful that the pair will be able to contest some of the larger classes offered throughout the season.
“I think I will try to start this circuit off doing the CSI 2* and 3* classes and see how he handles them before we decide if he’s ready for something bigger,” de Wandel explained. “If he does well, we will try to go as far as we can with him because he is very talented.”
De Wandel will be careful in deciding how to proceed.
“He’s my only grand prix horse, so I always need to be aware of what we’re doing with him,” he said. “Our plan has been to only do five or six weeks throughout circuit.”
The $50,000 UHealth Ear Institute Grand Prix will highlight this weekend at PBIEC as the last grand prix of the ESP Holiday Series before the start of the of the 12-week WEF circuit on Wednesday, Jan. 13. For more info., visit www.pbiec.com.
ABOVE: Filip de Wandel and Gentley compete at PBIEC.
