Kent Farrington wins 1 million dollar Grand Prix of Wellington

What an evening in Wellington! The grandstands were packed, the starting field first class, the course fair but difficult. Very difficult. One of the first to feel this were the Olympic champions Christian Kukuk and Checker. They only got as far as obstacle two, the wall with the emblem of the Rolex Series, which has nothing to do with the Grand Slam but still stands for great sport. Checker couldn’t cope with the wall, simply jumped through it instead of over it and Kukuk gave up – as did four other world-class pairs such as Bertram Allan with Pacino Amiro.

It was a test that almost had the character of a derby – anyone who came through the course with eight faults was cheered. Brazilian rider Guiherme Jorge’s course was a stroke of genius that demanded accuracy from the riders and perfectly gymnastic horses. If you lost your rhythm once, if you weren’t absolutely balanced, if you didn’t immediately get back on your hind leg after a jump, a mistake was inevitable.

Five clear rounds

In the end, only five pairs made it into the jump-off: The first to zero was three-time Olympic champion Ben Maher with the athletic Enjeu de Griesien. Ireland’s Jordan Coyle with Chaccolino followed two pairs later. Then the mistakes piled up until Kent Farrington and the Colestus daughter Greya showed how it should be done.

The mare jumped with so much overview and power and Farrington rode her to the point that there was not a single hairy moment. Irish rider Darragh Kenny then achieved a similar feat with Eddy Blue, number four for the jump-off.

The penultimate pair to tackle the course were crowd favorite Richard Vogel and his fantastic French gelding Gangster Montdesir. This is to be taken quite literally. Where others pulled, Vogel trusted that Gangster would also conjure up a clean jump from the forward distance. And it worked. Zero faults, which means that the Selle Français stallion has now made it into the jump-off in every single one of the few five-star appearances he has had at the age of ten. Today was no exception.

The pricking

But it was clear that the still young Kannan son would have a hard time against his much more experienced colleagues. Even though Jessica Kürten, the commentator on the microphone, said that Vogel’s ambition would make up for it.

Just how difficult it would be could be guessed after the first round. It came from Ben Maher and his fantastically jumping Enjeu de Grisien. The gelding has an expansive but flat canter and an elasticity in his body that allows him to shorten the canter at will if necessary. Maher made use of all of this, allowing the twelve-year-old Toulon son to really go on the canter sections, but was also able to make him short enough for the two turns required in the jump-off to get around on the plate. “It’s going to be tough for the others,” Kürten was certain as the Brit and his French gelding flew clear to the finish line after 43.72 seconds.

Jordan Coyle and Chaccolino gave away the chance of victory with a knockdown and the time would not have been enough either.

Then Farrington/Greya made their entrance. The pair didn’t give away an inch and already had so much of a lead on the last obstacle that Farrington was able to steer the mare slightly to the outside on the curved distance to gain space for the final oxer without having to slow down. The maneuver worked. Faultless, 42.99 seconds, a lesson in fast riding from the world number one from the USA.

Could that be topped? Kürten must have had her fingers crossed for her compatriot Darragh Kenny, but the pole fell at the last obstacle and the time would not have been enough to beat the two leaders. But at least they were faster than Coyle. Fourth place was therefore guaranteed.

When Richard Vogel and gangster Montdesir entered the pitch, it was as quiet as a mouse. The European champion had put on his game face, patted the bay’s neck once more to encourage him and then they were off. With his characteristic balance in the saddle and an unbeatable sense of rhythm and timing, Vogel and Gangster cruised through the course. “He’s faster,” Kürten stated matter-of-factly before the last line. She was right. Much faster, in fact. But the pole fell on the last jump. Collective groans from the audience. As Kent Farrington said later: “I closed my eyes as he rode towards the last (jump). It was only when I heard the spectators groaning that I opened them again.” To see that he had won.

Experience gained

Vogel looked disappointed, understandably. But he patted the stallion’s neck gratefully. Gangster had given his all. As Jessica Kürten said: “That was a matter of experience. It must have been the first time that oxer of this magnitude had come at him from this pace.”

Now the Kannan son has one more piece of experience that he will soon be able to put to good use in Texas. He is Vogel’s candidate for the World Cup Final in Fort Worth. Today he finished third behind the winner Kent Farrington with Greya and the second clear rider, Ben Maher with Enjeu de Grisien. Darragh Kenny was fourth with Eddy Blue, followed by his Irish compatriot Jordan Coyle on Chaccolino.

The world number one ahead of the three-time Olympic champion ahead of the European champion and world number four – the podium said a lot about the sporting level in the Grand Prix on the last weekend of the spring season in Wellington.

You can find all the results here.