Thermal, CA – March 2, 2025 – In a tight race right down to the finish, Mariano Maggi and Quantico 23 closed out Desert Circuit 8, presented by Adequan, with a win in the $30,000 Marshall + Sterling 1.40m Open Classic on Sunday, March 2.
Fourteen horses from the original 40-horse starting field navigated the first-round, Marina Azevedo-designed course without fault, making the jump-off a closely contested race against the clock.
When Maggi and Quantico 23 returned to the Grand Prix Arena at the Desert International Horse Park, the time to beat had been set at 46.645 seconds by the fifth pair to jump, Rikke Heineking and NKH Skydancer. However, Maggi and Quantico soon made short work of that time, shaving off nearly eight seconds to ultimately take home the win with a time of 38.693 seconds.
From Maggi’s round to the end of the class, six more riders would speed their way in between Maggi and Heineking, with the top six all finishing within four seconds of one another. Coming the closest to catching Maggi and taking home second place were Amanda Gomez and Charly-Ann. Gomez and her consistently quick mare stopped the clock in 38.813 seconds. Rounding out the top three with a time of 40.840 seconds were Jamie Taylor and Quatar.
“I had a chance to see a few because I was eighth to go,” said Maggi, who rides for Sweden. “I thought the jump-off suited me quite well. I just have to find a nice rhythm from the start. I think I caught a very good turn from one to two, and the rest was just simple. You just want to go fast, and normally, when you don’t have to ride backward because one distance gets a little bit complicated, if you keep the momentum going to the end, you know you have a big chance.”
Maggi has been partnered with his winning mount, Quantico 23, for roughly a year and a half, and he has found the 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding, owned by Ilan Ferder, to be a very reliable horse in both national competition and FEI CSI3* and CSI4* classes.
“The strongest quality [he has] is, first, he’s a very honest horse,” said Maggi. “Second, he’s very powerful. He actually has a lot of power and is dedicated enough to be able to run fast and leave the fences up. For that, he is a very competitive horse.”
To view full results of Sunday’s $30,000 Marshall + Sterling 1.40m Open Classic, click here.
