Scott Brash and Intertoy Z Win $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
Monday 26 March 2012
Week eleven of the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival concluded on Sunday with a victory for Scottish based Scott Brash and Intertoy Z in the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic. The pair won over fellow British rider Ben Maher and Quainton Stud’s Quiet Easy 4 who finished in 2nd place.
The course in the International Arena was set by Richard Jeffery of Bournemouth, England. The 1.50m class brought forty entries to the ring in the first round, but none were able to clear the course without fault. Thirteen entries finished the round with 4fault scores, and a jump-off was held to break the tie.
In the thirteen horse jump-off, only four jumped clear, and their times were the deciding factor. Ben Maher and Quainton Studs Quiet Easy 4 were the first to clear the course and stopped the clock in 40.854 seconds, which finished 2nd.
Cian O'Connor and KEC Alligator Alley, owned by Sinead and Oonagh Kennedy, were next to jump clear and their time of 41.065 seconds placed 3rd.
Great Britain's Tina Fletcher and Lady Pauline Harris’s Unique IX also cleared the course, and their time of 43.420 seconds took home the 4th place prize.
Last to go in the jump-off, Scott Brash and his fathers (Stanley) Intertoy Z jumped the final clear round to take the lead, crossing the timers in 40.403 seconds.
Class winner Intertoy Z is a 13 year old Zangersheide gelding by Interadel x Centauer. 26 year old Scott has ridden Intertoy Z since the gelding was 5 years old, and the pair has gained great international experience together.
During this year's FTI WEF circuit, Scott and Intertoy Z have racked up many top placings, including a win in the $50,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty CSI 2* Grand Prix during week two. Scott has also won several classes with his other horses during the circuit. He won a $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic with Whisky Mac IV during week four, and won the $200,000 FEI World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix CSI 4*-W, presented by The Bainbridge Companies, with Sanctos Van Het Gravenhof during week nine.
There have been many challenging classes throughout the circuit in the International Arena, but this was the first to see no clear round and a jump-off of the four fault scores. Scott gave his opinion of the course, stating, "I don't know what was so difficult to be honest. It was just a bit different. It was quite a long course. That last line was a bit tricky, the last fence - a lot had the last fence. I think a lot of the 4 faulters were pretty unlucky and my horse was unlucky in the first round. I think there were quite a lot of horses in that position."
"You know, you get the odd class like that, but I think it still ended up being an entertaining class," Scott added. "I have not been in that situation so many times. That doesn't happen too often, but they are big, hard tracks here. The horses aren't jumping bad, it's just hard. The time is tight, everything is hard, and you can have the odd occasion where there is a class like that where everyone is jumping well, but just a bit unlucky. That's the way it is."
Despite the rail in the first round, Scott was happy with his horse today and was happy that he had the opportunity to come back for the jump-off and put in a clear round. "I was glad to come back to do the jump-off for sure, it was good," he noted. "He felt really good today. I think he was just unlucky in the first round, because he jumped very good, and then the jump-off he was fantastic."
The last fence on course in both round one and the jump-off was a Liverpool oxer coming toward the in-gate, and several entries made it through the entire course only to have a rail at that final jump. Intertoy Z had stopped at a Liverpool in the jump-off during a previous week, so Scott made sure to get his horse to the jump with confidence in both rounds.
"To be honest I was probably slightly off it when he stopped before, but he sometimes just looks a little bit at the Liverpool. If you are a little bit far off it and he looks, then he can be quite far off it then. These things happen sometimes, but you have to learn from them and move on," Scott said. "Today I just made sure I had enough leg on him and got up to the fence and he jumped it very good both rounds. It was not an issue; he was good."
As the end of the circuit draws near, Brash looks forward to competing in the $500,000 FTI Consulting CSI 5* Finale Grand Prix next Saturday night, but has not yet decided which horse he will show.
Regardless of the final outcome, Scott has had a great experience this season and has learned a lot about himself and his horses.
"It has been fantastic for all of my horses to get up and running and going," he reflected. "There have been a couple of new horses here that I have just gotten to know throughout the circuit and you can't really get that experience with them anywhere else but here, so I think I am going home with a strong team ready for the year."
For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.
Final Results: $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
1. INTERTOY Z, SCOTT BRASH, SCOTT BRASH: 4/0/40.403
2. QUIET EASY 4, BEN MAHER, MRS. PHILLIPS: 4/0/40.854
3. KEC ALLIGATOR ALLEY, CIAN O`CONNOR, SINEAD & OONAGH KENNEDY: 4/0/41.065
4. UNIQUE IX, TINA FLETCHER, TINA FLETCHER: 4/0/43.420
5. CHIRON S, PAIGE JOHNSON, SALAMANDER FARM: 4/4/38.453
6. RADIO CITY, VICTOR AMAYA, GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES: 4/4/41.768
7. MALOU, MEREDITH MICHAELS-BEERBAUM, CAMILLA ANDERSON: 4/4/43.528
8. QUICK LATINUS, MIRANDA SCOTT, MIRANDA SCOTT: 4/4/43.745
9. CARMENA Z, SAER COULTER, COPERNICUS STABLES, LLC: 4/4/43.971
10. SILVER EXCHANGE II, DAVID MCPHERSON, DAVID MCPHERSON: 4/8/40.116
11. MC GUINNESS, RICHARD R. FELLERS, HARRY & MOLLY CHAPMAN: 4/8/42.160
12. COLORADO, JONATHAN MCCREA, CANDY TRIBBLE: 4/8/45.798
13. PALOUBET, WILTON PORTER, SLEEPY P RANCH LLC: 4/12/41.846
ENDS
Notes to editors
Photo Credit: Photos © Sportfot, Official Sport Photographer of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, www.us.sportfot.com.
About the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival
The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 11 through April 1. The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival is run by Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC and Wellington Equestrian Partners and held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. All 12 shows are "AA" rated and Jumper Rated 6, and more than $6 million in prize money will be awarded.
For further media enquiries, please contact the British Showjumping Press Office on 02476 698806 or press@britishshowjumping.co.uk
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