With stars such as Karl Cook and Laura Kraut competing, the $25,000 National Welcome Grand Prix at Santa Anita took on importance greater than the amount of prize money it offered Friday night.
So topping a 62-horse field was a thrill for Della White, who guided Gucci to the win in 31.967 seconds. The runner-up in the class at the Split Rock 5-star show was U.S. team veteran Natalie Dean with Mr. Bombastic in 32.108.
“I was super nervous coming in, because obviously it was against some of best riders here,” said Della.
Della White and Gucci
“My goal was always to go fast, and I had a super smooth round,” she said of her trip on the 11-year-old Holsteiner by Casall.
“Gucci is truly a unicorn – she’s the best horse ever and she tries her heart out every time,” observed Della.
“I love that Split Rock makes every class so special, especially with the victory gallops, and they do an amazing job, especially here at Santa Anita.”
Laura had three horses in the class; her best finish was sixth on Una Mariposa. Karl did not ride in the tiebreaker despite a clean round with Foxy de la Roque because his time did not qualify him for the top 15 format.
The big excitement at the show will be Saturday night in the $400,000 Longines FEI World Cup qualifier that has attracted European Champion Richie Vogel and world number one Kent Farrington and Mclain Ward of the U.S., as well as Ireland’s Conor Swail, who won the World Cup qualifier at Toronto last weekend.