FRESH from winning the $380,000 Grand Prix last week, Kilkenny’s Richie Moloney almost pulled off another win, this time coming second in the $35,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45 Jumper Classic in week 10 of the Winter Equestrian Festival, sponsored by Horseware Ireland.

Victory went to Brazil’s Eduardo Menezes and Caruschka 2 over the course designed by America’s Michel Vaillancourt whose track yielded 17 clears from 63 entries. Twelfth to go in the order, Menezes and Caruschka 2 raced through the early morning fog to clock the winning time of 59.44 seconds.

Moloney and Equinimity LLC’s Alsvid (2001 Hanoverian gelding by Escudo 1 x Azur) finished second, clear in 60.30 while Ronan McGuigan and Capall Zidane (2004 KWPN gelding by Concorde x Baloubet Du Rouet) placed third, clear in 61.39. Yet more was to come from the Irish in the class when Ireland’s Daniel Coyle rode Susan Grange’s Tennyson (2007 Canadian sport horse by Oklund x Lupicor) to fourth place honours, clear in a time of 61.77 while Conor Swail placed sixth with Cenzo (2007 KWPN gelding by Harley VDL x Cavalier), clear in 62.41.

Menezes, who is setting his sights on the Rio Olympics with his top horse Quintol, has owned Caruschka 2, a 12-year-old Oldenburg mare (Caspar x Continue), for five years and has a great partnership with the talented mare. She came from breeder Gestüt Lewitz, and Menezes purchased the mare as a seven-year-old after she went to the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium.