The 49-year-old was the only rider to produce a clear round in the allowed time at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid in the Spanish capital, meaning she triumphed without the need for a jump-off.

It was the 27th podium finish in all for Tops-Alexander who took home the majority of the €500,000 (£435,000/$543,000) prize purse and finished in 77.25sec.

"I have to say, the atmosphere here in Madrid is just amazing," the four-time Olympian said.

"It's electric, it's so exciting, and the crowd is just incredible. 

"I would like to thank Fellow's owner Athina Onasiss. 

"His last Grand Prix was at Valkenswaard in August last year, he then had a little setback and I needed to give him a little bit of time to build up his fitness.

"He's not a particularly fast horse so I was quite worried. 

"He spooked to number one, I had to do one more from one to two and then I was very worried about my time. 

"I had to really really stay focused, and on top of it try to jump clear and be slick.

"The season is going really fast but we take it show by show, now we have a plan and we will try to stick to the plan, stay positive and try to get it done. 

"So let's hope it goes in the right direction."

Andreas Schou of Denmark came home second to claim his maiden podium finish with Darc de Lux.

He went clear but agonisingly collected one time fault for ending just 0.03 seconds over the allotted time in 78.03, meaning he could not force a jump-off.

It was a similar story for Dutch rider Jur Vierling and Long John Silver 3 N.O.P in third, as his clear round came in at 78.82 for another time fault.

In the overall standings, Maikel van der Vluenten of The Netherlands has taken over at the top with 109 points despite ending 22nd, as Sweden's Malin Bayard Johnsson did not ride in Madrid.

Johnsson now has 99 points in second and Abdel Saïd of Belgium is third on 79.

Saint-Tropez in France will host the next leg of the circuit on June 3.