Nassar a winner at the Royal

El Conde told his rider, Nayel Nassar, he was up to the challenge of the $75,000 Centennial Cup speed class at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto last night, even before the partnership entered the arena surrounded by a crowd that packed the stands and appreciated every effort by the competitors.

“Standing at the ingate, he was pawing and kind of ready to go,” Nayel said of his 11-year-old Belgian sporthorse gelding.

“He was definitely pumped-up tonight.”

That was reflected in a very forward round, one of only four in a field of 19 that also was fault-free over Michel Vaillancourt’s course that dealt in adamant contrasts. It blended rollbacks requiring a bold approach with the need for discretion over strategically placed delicate, tall verticals.

Nayel was clocked in 53.54 seconds; impressive but not secure. Such stars as Ireland’s Conor Swail (Theo) and Olympic individual gold medalist Ben Maher of Great Britain (TicTac) weren’t able to leave the rails in place.

But with perennial Royal winner McLain Ward in the advantageous position of being last to go with Lezaro, it seemed the odds were not on Nayel’s side; he just had to wait and watch.

McLain demonstrated his usual determination to beat the clock, but came up just a bit short, finishing in 54.05 seconds. Beat Mändli of Switzerland was much further back in third place on Chartraine Pre Noir (56.70), while 2004 Olympic individual gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa on Quality FZ finished fourth (57.38).

El Conde was bred by 2010 world champion Philippe LeJeune of Belgium. His sire goes by the regal-sounding name, Lorde Piana Filou de Muze, but they called the mare just plain Birdy. She descended from Connemara pony stock, and perhaps it was the bloodlines of those famous jumping ponies that gave El Conde the nimble aptitude that won him the class.

Nayel, who has ridden for Egypt in the Olympics, cited the challenge of competing in the confines of a relatively narrow space at the Royal.

“We’re all coming from outdoors; this is the first indoor show I’ve done with Conde.”

But as he pointed out, “The experienced horses and the smart ones, they kind of know their job regardless of the ring. He comes out trying every single time.”

Nayel has developed a special partnership in less than a year with El Conde, perhaps because the horse reminds him of a previous favorite mount, Lucifer, now 17 and retired.

“He’s really my type of horse,” said Nayel of El Conde.

“He is just such a fighter in every sense of the word. He’s a great guy.”

He calls El Conde, “kind of a jack of all trades.” In a speed class, he can “have a good shot at it and also jump a big grand prix. He’ll usually always try his best.”