June 23, 2025 
From Irish banks and towering stone walls to that legendary, 10-foot drop down the bank, it takes a special kind of horse to win the Al Shira’aa Derby at Hickstead.
On Sunday, June 22, Gentleman VD Veldhof became just such a horse for Great Britain’s Robert Whitaker. The best part? Whitaker’s partner of less than a year accomplished the feat at the well-seasoned age of 19.
In fact, Whitaker says, he got the ride on the Belgian gelding last year with just this class in mind. “We bought him around November off Tim Gredley. I was really short on horses for the other shows, and in the back of my mind, I always thought he could win this class, so it was always the plan,” he explained of Gentleman.
The experienced Hickstead campaigner also won the 2019 Queen Elizabeth II Cup with Ireland’s David Simpson, and finished sixth with Joe Clayton in the Al Shira’aa Derby last year.
“Gentleman has done the Derby a few times before—last year, he was unlucky to have one down and time faults,” Whitaker added. “But he’s been on form for the class, so I knew he had a good chance, and he pulled it off.”
In doing so, Gentleman helped Whitaker make history, becoming the fourth member of the illustrious Whitaker clan to take the title, and one-half of the first father-son team to win the event (his father John Whitaker has been victorious in this same class four times).
In the jump-off, Robert Whitaker also found himself squaring off against his cousin, William Whitaker, aboard Flamboyant III. The Whitakers were two of just three combinations to jump clear in the first round and punch their ticket to the jump-off alongside Sammie-Jo Coffin, also of Great Britain, with Chaccomo Blue.
There, Coffin was the pathfinder, picking up an early four faults at the white oxer at fence two, and stopping the clock at 96.07 seconds. Next to go, Robert Whitaker was clear until the Derby rails, but crossed the finish in 88.33 sec to take the lead.
Last to go, William Whitaker—who won this class back in 2016 and finished second in 2024 with Flamboyant III—had the second part of the double of white gates down. He finished on a time of 89.75 seconds, less than a second-and-a-half behind his cousin, to take the runner-up spot.
“Last year, William was quite quick with his horse, so I thought I needed to get a fast round in and put the pressure on. That was basically my plan,” said Robert Whitaker explained.
In fact, both Whitaker’s short and long-term plans came to fruition, providing him and Gentleman VD Veldhof with one of their biggest wins to date. The pair previously took home a CSI5* 1.50 win at La Coruña in December and two Six Bars classes in Madrid in November of 2024, and Leipzig in January of this year.
