After a non competitive warm up session last night, the GCT of Portugal opened properly for the 5* riders with a speed class which was exciting enough to really whet the appetite for the rest of the competitions. In the expansive arena at Estoril it is always a challenge for the designer to make places where tight turns can get the better of flat out galloping but today Frank Rothenberger got the balance eaxctly right. 

Marco Kutscher on Gut Neuenhof Lea was first in and set a decent standard of 59.46 which looked as though it could be beaten easily but in fact it was over ten horses later before Julian Epaillard managed to do so with Mister Davier. But then into the ring trotted the speed queen of the GCT, Cannes and Valencia winner Vonka A. Combining flat out gallops with polo pony turns is her speciality and when the clock stopped, rider Daniel Deusser could have been forgiven for thinking the 6000 Euro was in the bag when it showed a time of 55.20 which took a full three seconds off the Frenchmans total! 

There was still half the class to ride though and perhaps surprisingly, it was Nick Skelton who gave beating him a real good go on his Grand Prix horse Carlo but they just failed to catch the german pair with 55.89. 

In the end though, it was almost the last man in who stopped any premature celebration. Roger-Yves Bost had only one other rider to follow him and if anyone had though Vonka was home and hosed in the winners spot, no-one had told the Frenchman or his mount Jovis de Ravel. The horse, who has had numerous good placings including one behind another speed demon Gianni Govoni in Valencia, turned the tables on the grass surface here and sped home in 53.65. It is not often that you will see a combination take a second and a half off the German pair and perhaps the unofficial title of GCT Speed Horse of the Season is still up for grabs!

In the Thursday evening jump off class, the time allowed was possibly the biggest factor with half a dozen riders not making the 67 second time limit. The line from fence three to the combination at five also caused some trouble, but in the end eleven made it to the jump off. 

First to go clear was Holland's Harrie Smolders. Third into the arena, his jump-off time of 43.65 looked beatable and did eventually give him fourth place. However considering the result of the afternoon's World Cup match, it was perhaps appropriate that a Brazilian was the one to take the lead from the Dutchman. 

Ad Norson is another contender for number one GCT speed horse and an absolutely amazing turn by rider Alvaro de Miranda Neto into the third fence gave the pair almost four seconds advantage as the crossed the line. Irishman Billy Twomey and his horse Tackeray must be getting tired of seeing Brazilian backs after Monaco, where they were placed third behind Alvaro and countryman Rodrigo Pessoa; here in Estoril, he finished next best in 41.39. Then to the home crowds delight, the top lady rider in Portugal, Luciana Dinitz,  sped round to take third in 42.16 on Lennox.

On Friday, there was a sense of deja vu over the Estoril showground this lunchtime as Roger-Yves Bost and Jovis de Ravel added another 6000 Euro to the kitty they had begun on Thursday. The Prove Mercedes Benz was not a pure speed class, but a two-phase contest in which Frank Rothenburger had been deceptively kind with the first part. 

Twenty-one of the 35 starters made it to the timed section. But in the jump-off rails fell rather more frequently especially once Roger, tenth to go, set an almost unbelievable time of 29.61 which all the others then had to catch. He had left absolutely no room for improvement and nobody managed to get close to that time but trying did ensure some notable casualties. All conquering AD Norson and Alvaro de Miranda were one, Daniel Deusser and Vonka A were another. In fact there were only eight double clears and next best was Marco Kutcher and Monaco winner Gut Neuenhofs Lea. Harrie Smolders went one better than last night to take third on Exquis Powerfee.