OFFALY’s Darragh Kenny has won at least one class during the first three weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, and last week celebrated his 30th birthday celebrations by coming out on top in Saturday night’s three-star $132,000 Adequan Grand Prix.

Fresh from winning Wednesday’s 1.45m Classic with Important de Muze, Kenny rode a new mount, Cassini Z, to victory in the big 16-horse jump-off.

Some 45 riders started over Peter Grant’s 1.50m track and the crowd were in for an exciting jump-off under the lights in the big international arena at Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre.

Following difficultly in Thursday’s Grand Prix qualifier, Kenny changed the bit of the 11-year-old gelding by Cassini II and posted the winning time of 38.21 seconds when 12th to go.

“I jumped him in the WEF Grand Prix qualifier, and I didn’t ride great,” he said at the press conference. “The bit didn’t feel great. I was actually very frustrated about it. I jumped the next day in the 1.40m in a different bridle, and it felt good. So then I went tonight in that bridle.

“He’s still green sometimes – like the first jump in the jump-off, I came in quite fast, but he just jumped really high and didn’t jump really far across it, so then the seven was very long one to two so I really had to go fast there and then he was just in a really fast rhythm so I just kept going with it.”

Cassini Z arrived at Kenny’s Oakland Stables to be sold on, but Ann Thompson of Bowers Cone LLC stepped in to buy the gelding just last week and this was a winning start for the new owner and rider combination.

America’s Jessica Springsteen was just two hundredths of a second slower in second place with RMF Swinny du Parc (0/0 38.23). Owned by Frank and Monica McCourt’s Rushy Marsh Farm, the 12-year-old mare by Caspar was ridden by Ireland’s Denis Lynch for six months before going to Springsteen.

Adrienne Sternlicht took the final place on the podium with the lovely Cristalline (Cristallo 1 x Caretello B). The 24-year-old American set the standard of 39.36 seconds when she thrilled the crowd when jumping the hedge between fence two and three to save time.

“I think the two girls’ horses have quite a big stride,” Kenny said when discussing the jump-off. “I think my horse just kept running in all of the lines, so just gradually over the length of the course he made up the time. He’s very, very careful, so I don’t really have to worry about the jumps as much as the turning.”

Kenny’s girlfriend, Britain’s Jessica Mendoza, finished in fourth place with Toy Boy (0/0 40.00), and Derry’s Jordan Coyle was fifth with Andrew Kocher’s grey gelding Eristov (0/0 40.55).

Springsteen was awarded the Martha Jolicoeur leading lady award for her results in week three.