Darragh Kenny wins at Bolesworth International
Friday 17 June 2016
Darragh Kenny won the headline class at Bolesworth CSI **** International on Friday to continue Irish domination of this year's event.
Fresh from Dermott Lennon's speed class win earlier in the day, Kenny landed the four-star jump-off competition, sponsored by Cazenove Capital Management.
And Kenny revealed that his winning ride Go Easy De Muze had only been with him for a few weeks after they dominated a jump-off of more than 20 riders, prevailing by almost two seconds from Joe Whitaker and Lola V, with Brazil's Felipe Amaral (Premiere Carthoe BZ) third and Victoria Gulliksen (Viego Les Hauts) fourth.
"It was a really good win. I am very happy with that," Kenny said.
"I have only had the horse for about three weeks, and that was only our second class over 1.45 metres. He feels amazing.
"I think he is going to be a really cool horse for the future. He was the Dutch champion this year with its previous rider, and he also won the grand prix in Eindhoven.
"It was a testing jump-off. There were only four double-clears. There were big open distances and big verticals, but that suits my horse.
"I have really big hopes for him. He will jump the grand prix here on Sunday, and he will hopefully go to Rotterdam next week, then jump on the Irish Nations Cup team in Falsterbo, Sweden.
Friday's two-star action, meanwhile, saw a win for Sophie Fawcett and Quite Cadiz in the speed class, sponsored by AC Jackson, with Ireland's Aisling Byrne (Wellview Classic Dream) second and Paul Barker (U2 II) third.
And the two-star accumulator, sponsored by Gaskells Waste Management, saw another Irish victory, with David Simpson steering Starfighter home, followed by Mark Armstrong's Balougio III in second and Robert Murphy on Vogue in third.
.JPG "Chris Smith Clinches Back-to-Back Wins in the International Stairway at Royal Highland Show")
