Lamaze Finishes Top Two in $33,500 Westjet Cup 1.45m at Spruce Meadows

28 June - Larangeiro set the track for Friday's Westjet Cup with a very tight time allowed that caught many of its 93 competitors in the Meadows on the Green. In the end, nine entries finished with one time fault and three more had two faults on the clock. Only seven advanced to the jump-off, where Canada's Eric Lamaze finished first and second with the only double clear rounds. Lamaze completed the fastest round in 31.84 seconds to earn victory aboard Artisan Farms LLC's Fine Lady 5. He took second place honors with Artisan Farms' Check Picobello Z in 35.91 seconds. Ireland's Richie Moloney guided Equinimity LLC's Freestyle de Muze to a third place finish with two time faults over the short course in 37.04 seconds.

 Fine Lady 5, an 11-year-old Hanoverian mare (Forsyth x Hauptstutbuch), is a brand new mount for Lamaze. "We just got her a little bit before coming to Spruce Meadows," the rider explained. "My first show with her was Rome. The horse has been winning her entire career, so I knew she was a winner, but you still have to get along with the horse and I was really impressed. I was happy."

 "I really click with that horse. The moment I tried it, I knew that she was my type of horse," Lamaze stated. "I had a gap to be filled in the 1.50m speed competition in Europe and things like that, so that's how she came around, and then so quickly we made a good team."

 Lamaze plans to show Fine Lady 5 again in Sunday's 1.50m competition as well as next week and will go from there. He had high praise for the mare and looks forward to continuing their partnership. "She is modern," he described. "She is light, careful, she has blood. Everything you want in a modern show jumper, she has. She is very simple. To go fast, she is a little complicated. She is so fast. She is actually one of the fastest horses I have ever sat on, so you have to just not think so fast."

 A technical course with a tight time allowed kept a lot of the riders out of the jump-off, and Lamaze knew it was not going to be easy when he walked the course, but he expertly qualified both of his mounts for the jump-off. Heading into the short course early with Fine Lady 5, Lamaze completed what would turn out to be the winning round. He then guided Check Picobello Z into second at the end. "I went second in the jump-off with her and there were fast riders behind me, so I just played my game with her," he stated. "Then my next horse was easier because I was the only double clear, so I just wanted to make sure I didn't have a time fault, which I was close."

 "[Check Picobello Z] is an 8-year-old, and I think a lot of him," Lamaze declared. "I think it is a horse for the future, so I have been taking my time. I think the world of this horse. I think you will see a lot of him in the future."

Final Results: $33,500 Westjet Cup 1.45m

1 FINE LADY 5:Hanoverian / M / 11 Forsyth x Hauptstutbuch

ERIC LAMAZE (CAN), Artisan Farms, LLC: 0/0/31.84

2 CHECK PICOBELLO Z: Zangersheide / G / 8 Cardento x Orlando

ERIC LAMAZE (CAN), Artisan Farms, LLC: 0/0/35.91

3 FREESTYLE DE MUZE: Belgian Warmblood / G / 9 Lord Z x Cento

RICHIE MOLONEY (IRL), Equinimity LLC: 0/2/37.04

4 GELEDIMAR: Zangersheide / M / 11 Grosso Z x Lord Z

WILL SIMPSON (USA), Monarch International: 0/4/33.91

5 CYKLON 1083: Swedish Warmblood / S / 13 Cardento x Cortus

SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Spy Coast Farm, LLC: 0/8/32.11

6 PICOLO: Warmblood / G / 11 Diamant De Semilly x Alme

DARRAGH KENNY (IRL), Oakland Ventures LLC: 0/8/34.47

7 RAGING BULL VANGELIS S: Belgian Warmblood / S / 16 Nonstop x Indocrtro

NAYEL NASSAR (EGY), Nayel Nassar: 0/26/53.01

8 MAKAVOY: Dutch Warmblood / G / 11 Hors La Loi II x Ahorn

BEN ASSELIN (CAN), Attache Stables: 1/69.24

9 POLASKO: Oldenburg / G / 11 Polytraum x Grannus

NICOLAS PIZARRO SUAREZ (MEX), Nicolas Pizarro Suarez: 1/69.27

10 CONTINO 14: Holstein / G / 17 Contender x Calypso I

JONATHON MILLAR (CAN), Millar Brooke Farm: 1/69.48

11 ZANDOR: Warmblood / S / 10 Oklund x Ulster

LUIS ALEJANDRO PLACENSIA (MEX), Luis Gerardo Plascencia: 1/69.68

12 ROSANA DU PARK: Dutch Warmblood / M / 9 Kannan x Ukase

CARLY ANTHONY (USA), Artisan Farms LLC & Torrey Pines: 1/69.73

Source: Press release from Spruce Meadows Media Services