FRENCHMAN Kevin Staut won his first five-star Grand Prix in a number of years when storming to victory in the €400,000 Grand Prix Hermes in Paris on Sunday evening.

Staut landed victory aboard the 14-year-old mare Cheppetta (Chepetto x Cash) when one of just four double clears in the competitive 12-horse jump-off. He had a nervous wait as world number two, the in-form Henrik von Eckermann (Sweden) and King Edward were last to go, however the duo were fractions slower for second place.

Staut picked up a cheque for €132,000 and commented: “I have not won a five-star Grand Prix for quite a while and if I have to explain why, we would sit here for a long time. There are ups and downs and this is obviously an up and I hope it will boost my team. With Henrik and King Edward coming after me, I did not think I would win, I was sure I would be second.”

Denis Lynch was runner-up in Saturday evening’s 1.55m Accumulator. Riding GC Chopin’s Bushi, he was one of 10 riders to score the maximum 65 points and his time of 43.96 was just over a second slower than British winner Harry Charles, who guided Stardust to the win in 42.72 seconds. Lynch picked up €12,400.

Matt Garrigan and Anna Carway teamed up to finished third in the Under 25 pair’s competition at the venue. Carway produced a double clear with Ajaccio, while four and clear from Garrigan and HHS Seattle (Pacino x Cavalier Royale) was good enough to secure third. The Belgian duo of Thibeau Spits and Gilles Thomas took the top sport, ahead of British sister Sienna and Scarlett Charles in second.