PARIS, Nov. 4 -- Switzerland's Martin Fuchs and Clooney produced a spectacular victory in the fourth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup 2018/2019 Western European League in Lyon, France on Sunday.
In an edge-of-the-seat 10-horse jump-off that included four riders flying the host-country flag, it came down to a race to catch the target-time set by Italy's Lorenzo de Luca and Ensor de Litrange who were fifth to go.
And the last three chasing down that time were Rio 2016 Olympic team gold medallist Kevin Staut from France and the silver and bronze medallists from this year's FEI World Equestrian Games, Fuchs and fellow-countryman Steve Guerdat.
De Luca really put it up to the rest of them in the jump-off when stopping the timers in 37.78 seconds with a great run from his powerful 14-year-old gelding and, with just three left to go, Dutchman Maikel van der Vleuten was his nearest rival after posting 38.00 with Dana Blue. The 7,000-seater stadium was packed with French fans who held their collective breath as Staut set off with For Joy van't Zorgvliet, but despite their best effort the pair didn't threaten the lead when breaking the beam in 38.32 seconds.
Second-last into the ring however, Fuchs had his foot to the floor all the way, and with a brilliant turn to the vertical three from home and a breathtaking gallop to the last, he stormed through the timers in 37.25 seconds and not even Guerdat and his mare Bianca could match that. De Luca held on for runner-up spot while 2017 Olympic champion Guerdat, twice-winner of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup title, had to settle for third when stopping the clock on 37.89.
The 26-year-old Fuchs said, "I was always going for the win, but I wasn't sure I could beat Lorenzo - I'm not always super-fast with Clooney and Lorenzo looked really fast on the screen. I didn't know what time I had going through the finish, but when I looked up I saw first place and I was very, very happy."
The Swiss rider now heads the Western European League table carrying 35 points, so only needs a few more to book his ticket to the Longines Final in Gothenburg, Sweden next April.