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International Jumping Riders Club
Lamaze and Powerplay make it two in a row in Spectra Energy Cup 1.55m at Spruce Meadows
6 June - 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.
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, 'Alright, 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."
Final Results: $85,000 Spectra Energy Cup 1.55m
1 POWERPLAY: Holstein / G / 10 Casall x Limbus
ERIC LAMAZE (CAN), Artisan Farms, LLC: 0/0/40.86
2 TRIPPLE X III: AES / S / 12 Namelus R x Cantango
TIFFANY FOSTER (CAN), Artisan Farms, LLC: 0/0/41.99
3 ZIGALI PS: KWPN / G / 10 Kigali x Palfrenier
ERIC LAMAZE (CAN), Artisan Farms, LLC: 0/0/42.49
4 EREGAST VANT KIEZELHOF: Belgian Warmblood / G / 10 Thunder van de Zuuthoeve x Lantano
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Spy Coast Farm, LLC: 0/0/42.72
5 DIXSON: Belgian Warmblood / G / 11 Vigo D Arsouilles x Olisco
IAN MILLAR (CAN), Susan & Ariel Grange: 0/0/43.14
6 WKD PEPPERPOT: Irish Sport Horse / M / 12 Heritage Fortunus x Diamonds Aretrumps
SAMEH EL DAHAN (EGY), Joanne Sloan Allen: 0/0/43.97
7 AMIGO: Zangersheide / G / 10 Coriano Z x Silvester
ANGEL KAROLYI (VEN), Hollow Creek Farm: 0/0/45.23
8 CARISMA: Swedish Warmblood / M / 15 Cardento x Maraton
DANIELLE GOLDSTEIN (ISR), Israeli Equestrian Partners: 0/0/45.89
9 CRISTALLO: Holstein / G / 16 Caretino x Cicero
RICHARD SPOONER (USA), Show Jumping Syndication Intl: 0/4/49.28
10 PEKIN ST DENIS: Selle Francais / G / 11 Eyken des Fontenis x Quatubet du Rouet
CLAUDIA LORENZA O FARRILL (MEX), Terranova Kohima SL: 0/4/49.95
11 CHIVAS Z: Zangersheide / G / 15 Cumano x Lord Gotthard
RICHARD SPOONER (USA), Steve Bond: 1/81.73
12 AMBLER GAMBLER: Dutch Warmblood / S / 9 Colander x Numero Uno
KENT FARRINGTON (USA), Haity McNerney LLC & Amalya Investments: 1/83.98