LIMERICK’s Paul O’Shea was runner-up in the three-star $137,000 Grand Prix on the final day of the Spring III competition in Wellington, Florida.

Held on the Derby Field at the Equestrian village, O’Shea and the Eye Candy Jumpers-owned Squirt Gun chased home Mexican winner Santiago Lambre who won aboard Easy Girl.

Some 42 combinations started over Guilherme Jorge’s 1.50m track, with 13 making it through to the jump-off. O’Shea and the 10-year-old gelding by Diarado took over the lead mid-way through the class when stopping the clock in a time of 38.70 seconds.

However, when last to go, Lambre shaved a few hundredths of a second off O’Shea’s time, stopping the clock fault-free in 38.02 seconds to claim the victory. O’Shea had to settle for the runner-up place and a prize fund of $27,400.

The turf track marked the place they picked up a win in their first Grand Prix class together last spring while also notching a victory in a national Grand Prix class during the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).

“My plan was to go as fast as I could smoothly,” O’Shea said. “The numbers that I wanted came up and I probably could’ve been quicker back to the double, so maybe I lost it there, but he jumped great. Squirt Gun has no weaknesses, really. It feels as though it doesn’t matter what type of track is built, he’s able to jump it. He’s a very special horse.”

Offaly’s Darragh Kenny finished in fifth place with Vinci de Beaufour. The combination posted the fastest time of the class (37.52) but finished with four faults. Ireland’s Conor Swail slotted into eighth place with Gamble (0/4 39.72), ahead of Gavin Harley in ninth with Very Chic du Tillard (0/4 40.27).

National win for Kenny

Darragh Kenny won the the $35,000 Wellington Agricultural Services Spring III National Grand Prix at the venue later in the day. From a startlist of 39, a total of 13 pairs qualified for the jump-off, and Kenny rode all four of his mounts into the second round.

He capitalised on the opportunity of riding the track multiple times, landing on the podium with two of his horses. It was with his final horse, Sangris Boy, owned by Heathman Farm, that he picked up the victory. Kenny and the 11-year-old British Sport Horse gelding by Sandro Boy flew to a double-clear finish, stopping the clock in an impressive 35.73 seconds.

He finished third with Crispo R, owned by Kerry McCahill, crossing the finish line in 37.59 seconds.

“I’m just getting to know all my horses so I just went as fast as I could and hoped the jumps stayed up. Luckily, they did. They’re all very good horses. They’re all new, this is my first week showing all four of them, but they’re all very talented,” he said afterwards.