Bordeaux, France - February 4, 2006 - Age is proving no barrier to success in the FEI World Cup Jumping 2005/2006 series which is moving towards its zenith with just three of the 12 qualifying rounds left to go.

Tonight in Bordeaux, France the 18 year old gelding Loro Piana Albin showed horses almost half his age just how it should be done when scorching to victory for Italy's Juan Carlos Garcia, and in this season when 55 year old Austrian rider Thomas Fruhmann has made a dramatic return to the top after many years in the shadows, it seems that there is a certain magic in maturity.

Albin is a little horse with a big heart and his rider was full of praise for him tonight when he rose to the occasion and left the rest of the field floundering in his wake. "He still loves his jumping" Juan Carlos said, delighted to have earned a place at the series final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in April.

>From a starting field of 37, a total of nine went through to the jump-off against the clock and Belgium's Patrick McEntee was unlucky not to join them when picking up just a single time fault in an otherwise perfect round from his promising 11 year-old gelding Sherry Mury Marais Z.

In round one, Holland's Wim Schroder was eliminated when Eurocommerce Montreal proved reluctant to take on Frank Rothenberger's track, while Spain's Cayetano Martinez de Irujo retired during an uneasy tour with Kesberoy de St Aubert and both Germany's Lars Nieberg and Loreana and Finland's Mikael Forsten with Isaac du Jonquet also decided to call it a day.

Wim's brother, Gerco Schroder, took the bit between his teeth when winning the second leg of the current series in Oslo, Norway back in October, and he has been running with it ever since. He strengthened his position with good placings at both Washington and Syracuse on the US circuit and is heading the Western European league table by a considerable margin, but tonight he saw the big bucks slip from his grasp with two fences down as he tested the new track against the clock.

Ireland's Jessica Kurten is on a high right now having scooped the $260,000 Grand Prix purse during a blitz at the recent Al Maktoum Challenge in Dubai and following that with a series of further big wins, and the Irish rider set the early target in the jump-off tonight when bringing Quibell home and clear again in 38.85 seconds. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum's Shutterfly is one of the fastest horses in the game however and broke the beam in 35.98 seconds but the American-born German rider was hampered by a pole on the floor. Sweden's Helena Lundback looks to have found a really good one in her new ride Madick and this 10 year old mare, who was jumping in only the second World Cup class of her career, impressively raised the bar when returning a time of 38.03 seconds as she left all the timber intact.

Switzerland's Gregoire Oberson immediately knocked her off her pedestal however with an even faster round from the 12 year old Cartoflex Gazelle Beauval who stopped the clock in 37.99 seconds and when Frenchman Florian Angot hit the FEI vertical for four faults then Oberson's time was still the one to beat. Garcia was not convinced that he could do it. "I always try, but so many times we make just a single fault in the final round" the Italian rider said afterwards. Tonight however there was to be no mistake as Albin showed the toughness, courage and enthusiasm that have become his hallmark. Galloping and turning all the way the old gelding was well in touch when clearing the third-last but a nasty stumble on the landing side of the fence could have thrown him off balance for the following vertical.

Quickly picking himself up however he bravely responded as Garcia kicked on, and tackling the final two fences at full tilt he cleared the line in 36.20 seconds which proved more than good enough to win the day when the remaining two contenders, Norway's Geir Gulliksen and Russia's Vladimir Beletskiy, both faulted.

Garcia realises that he is lucky to have a horse like Albin. "We know each other very well because I have been riding him now for eight or nine years" he explained last night. "He came into jumping quite late in his life so he has some time left yet" he added. However the horse's long-time owner wanted to retire Albin two years ago. "He wanted to put him out in the field but I asked him to sell him to me and he finally agreed" Garcia pointed out. These last two years have been extremely successful so this is a success story from everyone's point of view and the Italian rider is now gearing up for a strong challenge at the final in Malaysia.

RESULTS:

2, Cartoflex Gazelle Beauval (Gregoire Oberson) Sui 0/0 37.99;

3, Madick (Helena Lundback) Swe 0/0 38.03;

4, Quibell (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 0/0 38.85;

5, First de Launay (Florian Angot) Fra 0/4 35.10;

6, Shutterfly (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger 0/4 35.98;

7, Rezonanz (Vladimir Beletskiy) Rus 0/4 42.23;

8, Eurocommerce Milano (Gerco Schroder) Ned 0/8 46.57;

9, Cattani 17 (Geir Gulliksen) Nor 0/8 48.08;

10, Sherry Mury Marais Z (Patrick McEntee) Bel 1/78.30;

11, Granie (Markus Fuchs) Sui 4/69.40;

12, VDL Groep Eve des Etisses (Hubert Bourdy) Fra 4/70.87;

Louise Parkes covers Ireland, Great Britain and Europe for PhelpsSports.com

Look for the debut of PhelpsSports.com in late August. PhelpsSports.com, a new and highly innovative subscription equestrian sports website, will offer equestrians and fans of equestrian sports from around the world, a single web address for the latest breaking news of the Hunter, Jumper, Dressage, Eventing and other High Performance disciplines. The website will include up to the minute audio reports, live video interviews and features from around the globe, photography, and the creative writing and reporting of some of the finest equestrian journalists in the world.

PhelpsSports.com will a have a full staff on scene and will provide complete coverage of the 2006 World Cup Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in April.