Eric Lamaze and Powerplay. Photos © Spruce Meadows Media Services.
Calgary, AB, Canada – June 5, 2014 – The ‘National’ Tournament, presented by ROLEX, continued with three major competitions in the International Ring at the Spruce Meadows Summer Series. Topping the $85,000 Spectra Energy Cup 1.55m was Eric Lamaze on Powerplay, who were also yesterday’s big winners. Earlier in the day, winners included Darragh Kenny (IRL) with his first-ever International Ring victory and McLain Ward, who added another first place prize to the two he earned on Wednesday.
Watch highlights from competition on Thursday at the ‘National’!
The ‘National’ Tournament, presented by ROLEX, is the first of five tournaments in the Summer Series and runs through Sunday, June 8. The highlight of the week is Saturday’s $400,000 RBC Grand Prix presented by Rolex. This week’s top classes include: the $35,000 RBC Capital Markets Cup 1.50m on Friday, June 6, the $60,000 TransCanada Parcours de Chasse on Saturday, June 7, and the 210,000 CNOOC Nexen Cup 1.50m Derby on Sunday, June 8.
The course designer for the ‘National’ Tournament in the International Ring is Guilherme Jorge of Brazil. Thirty-six entries went to post in the first round of the $85,000 Spectra Energy Cup 1.55m, and 10 found the path to a clear round and the jump-off.
Jorge noted that he is building for an extremely high quality of horses and riders at the Spruce Meadows Summer Series, so he has to be exact in his design. “The time allowed is playing a big part. The footing here, the horses are jumping really comfortable out of it, really confident. That makes our job harder, but in a good way. We don’t want to overdo it in the first week, but I think it’s going to be a really good competition on Saturday,” he said.
First in the jump-off was the new combination of Tiffany Foster (CAN) and Artisan Farms LLC’s Tripple X III. They set a quick leading time of 41.99 seconds, which would hold up for second place at the end of the class.
Eight horses later, Lamaze and Powerplay, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Casall x Limbus, who were able to catch Foster’s time. They made quick rollbacks on course and lowered the leading time to 40.86 seconds.
“The final line, I did one less stride. Tiffany asked me before she went if she should do eight (strides) in the last line, and I said since she didn’t know the horse all that well, it wasn’t a great idea. So I knew where to beat her!” Lamaze joked.
Foster retorted, “I even asked him to go slow, and he didn’t. Today I said to Eric, ‘How fast should I go?’ and he said, ‘Just go as fast as you’re comfortable and feel.’ So I thought, ‘All right, I’ll go pretty fast!’ He just keeps getting better and better. Obviously Ben Maher did an amazing job, and now I just get to have some fun.”
Lamaze also picked up third place on Zigali P S, also owned by Artisan Farms LLC. They had a time of 42.49 seconds.
Foster said that her relationship with Tripple X III felt strong from the beginning. “The ones that I’ve ridden so far jump big jumps and [have] been really, really scopey, brave, and safe. He feels pretty fast,” she revealed. “This is the seventh class I’ve ever jumped him in. When I tried him, he felt pretty comfortable already. Sometimes horses you just feel good on right away, and he’s been like that.”
With tonight’s win, Lamaze passed the $4 million earning mark, now having $4,034,357 as the leader of the Top 20 Prize Money Winnings in the history of Spruce Meadows.
Lamaze was very happy to get a second win at the ‘National.’ He said, “It was a great evening. The courses have been challenging. Guilherme was a little more lenient with the time allowed tonight than he was yesterday, so there were a few more clears. But the course was hard enough. The distance in the triple combination was very short, and you needed a little scope to get over ‘c’. Like any jump-off at Spruce Meadows, it comes down to speed. Sometimes the luck of the draw decides the winner in the end.”
Ward Takes Another Win
McLain Ward made up for a mistake in last night’s class when he and Zander had a rail at the last jump to finish second behind Eric Lamaze. In the $33,500 Westmoreland Cup 1.50m, Ward was extremely fast throughout the jump-off course but slowed down to the final vertical, leaving it up and stopping the timers in 31.23 seconds for the win.
“I screwed up in last night’s class,” Ward admitted. “It felt good (today), but I took a pull to the last!”
Despite easing off the pace a bit to the last jump, Ward beat a solid field of competitors. “I knew there were fast ones coming, particularly Darragh. He was good this morning. Eric’s horse is very fast, and obviously he’s on a roll,” he acknowledged. “I just got a little bit lucky.”
Second place went to Lamaze and new mount Fine Lady 5, owned by Artisan Farms LLC. They were just off the pace in 31.30 seconds. Three-tenths of a second slower in 31.67 seconds, Darragh Kenny and Sans Souci Z, owned by Caroline Lloyd, was third.
Ward and Zander took the option at fence 8 on course, the Devil’s Dyke, to prepare for Sunday’s $210,000 CNOOC Nexen Cup Derby. Ward didn’t mind riding in the rain and cooler weather today either. “It gets warmer and the show gets better with every win!” he joked.
Darragh Kenny Leads First Victory Gallop in the International Ring
The $33,500 ATCO Pipelines Cup 1.45m had a large starting field of 71 entries, and 23 of those moved on to the jump-off. The early leader was Frances Land (USA), who set a blistering pace of 41.40 seconds with Vieanne, which would hold up for second place at the end of the class.
The only one to come close to Land’s time was Darragh Kenny, who rides for Ireland but is based in the United States. He and Picolo, an 11-year-old Warmblood gelding by Diamant de Semilly x Alme owned by his Oakland Ventures LLC, were so smooth and quick that even Kenny didn’t know he was fast enough to win. They stopped the timers in 41.04 seconds for victory.
Before he went in for the jump-off, Kenny said, “I really thought I couldn’t be faster than Frances; she was amazingly fast. I just thought, ‘Ok, I’ll go as quick as I can go and see how it keeps going.’ He’s very, very quick across the ground and quick across the jumps, so that helps him.”
During the jump-off, he still wasn’t sure. “Actually, I turned back to the last double (combination) and was like, ‘I think I’m too slow.’ The announcer said something, but I couldn’t really hear it so I didn’t know. I was like, ‘I’m just going to keep going and hope for the best!’” he smiled.
Kenny found Picolo a year ago during the off week of the Spruce Meadows Summer Series. He traveled to Europe and found him through a friend from Cedric Angot. After treating Picolo’s ulcers, Kenny said he has returned to normal and has shown he’s back to his winning ways.
“He’s a super horse, and I really think a lot of him. He always tries to win. He’s so good like that. I’m surprised he did it today. It’s his first day in the ring,” Kenny revealed. “This 1.45m-1.50m, that’s his division. He’s competitive at that. I didn’t really buy him to be a top grand prix horse; I bought him to win classes, and that’s what he does.”
This is Kenny’s first win in the International Ring. “It’s definitely one of the best ways to spend a rainy afternoon! It’s an amazing feeling,” he remarked.
Highlight competitions for Friday at the ‘National’ Tournament, presented by ROLEX, include the $35,000 Encana Cup 1.45m and the $35,000 RBC Capital Markets Cup 1.50m. For more information and full results, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.
Based in Calgary, Canada, Spruce Meadows is the brainchild of the Southern family who built a Show Jumping complex at the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. It was in 1976 that the first Spruce Tournaments were held, with annual spectator attendances reaching over 50,000 by the end of the decade. Today, Spruce Meadows boasts one of the greatest outdoor equestrian venues in the world and offers an incredible experience for riders and fans alike. Spruce Meadows focuses on the organization and hosting of show jumping tournaments of unmatched quality for junior, amateur and professional athletes in a manner that reflects basic family values in a clean, green and welcoming environment that celebrates the horse and encourages the breeding and training of quality sport horses and the teaching and development of athletes. For more information on Spruce Meadows, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.
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