Three seconds of a time difference denied Cian O’Connor and Carlous Z a win in the $84,000 Salamander Hotels & Resorts Valentine’s Grand Prix at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) last Friday.

Slotting into second place in a time of 39.28 seconds, O’Connor admitted that the blazing round by American rider Kent Farrington and Blue Angel was too fast to beat. Farrington’s 12-year-old Luidam-sired mare sped around clear in just 36.58.

However the Irish Olympic medallist O’Connor said he was happy with his second place finish on the relatively new horse, Carolus Z.

“It’s the first Grand Prix placing with him, so I’m pretty happy,” said the rider. “I knew it was going to be mission impossible to beat Kent, so I just tried to jump a clear round and hopefully hold on for second place.”

Carolus Z only arrived at Karlswood in recent months.

“I just got him in the winter, so I did a few indoors with him,” O’Connor said. “He is a big horse to keep together and I’m just getting the hang of him, so hopefully good things to come.”

The 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding by Canabis Z, owned by O’Connor’s Ronnoco Ltd, picked up $16,800 in prize money.

“It is fantastic to come to a different venue, but also to jump for this kind of money is fantastic. Some people are jumping younger horses or new horses, and it’s great, it’s worthwhile,” remarked the rider.

Four faults in the opening round of the Grand Prix tied Shane Sweetnam to 10th place aboard the Irish-bred mare Solerina.

Farrington and Blue Angel also proved to be a stumbling block for another Irish rider in the $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup speed class. Kevin Babington was forced to settle for second and third place respectively with Shorapur and Mark Q.

Babington and Mark Q were the first pair to clear the course, fifth to go, in a time of 75.34. Fifty-seven rounds later, it was Babington again who beat his own time to move into the lead with Shorapur in 72.91. For a while, it looked like the rider might have a one-two finish on his hands, but Farrington and Robin Parsky’s Blue Angel flew around in 71.51 to win.

The American rider had Babington in his sights from the beginning of the class.

“I saw Kevin’s first horse go,” noted Farrington. “Kevin is a great rider; I thought he had a really competitive round to start, but I had an advantage going at the end.”

Although he was beaten, Babington was pleased with the performances from both Shorapur and Mark Q.

“It’s never over until Kent has gone,” he admitted. “I was very surprised that Mark Q’s time held up as long as it did. It was a careful course and those Table A speeds always end up harder than you think.”

The 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Mark Q is by OBOS Quality 004 out of a dam by Positively.

“He tried really hard today, but I knew there were a few places that they could catch me. It just turned out that a lot of the very fast ones had faults, so it just kind of worked out,” he remarked.

HIGH HOPES

The second-placed Shorapur is a nine-year-old Hanoverian mare by Stakkato Gold out of a Drosselklang II mare that Babington is producing slowly.

“I have really high hopes for that horse,” the rider stated. “It’s her first time really moving up to this level here in Florida, so she really impressed me that she was able to go as fast as she did.

“She has so much scope and she is extremely careful, so I am just trying not to move too fast with her and not move her up the ranks too fast. She is the kind of horse you could easily do that with because she is so brave, but she is also extremely careful, so I have to be careful,” he added.

Babington and Mark Q picked up another second place in the $34,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic, finishing behind 24-year-old Swedish rider Alexander Zetterman and Cafino.

Twenty-eight entries produced just five clear rounds in the class. First to go in the jump-off, Zetterman and Cafino set an unbeatable pace with their double clear round in 46.34.

Babington and Mark Q were the only other pair to clear the short course, finishing in 48.27.

Four faults pushed Shane Sweetnam and the 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion Diktator Van De Boslandhoeve into ninth place overall.

Both Richie Moloney and David Blake featured several times throughout the show. Blake won a 1.30m class with Lisalba last Wednesday, finishing clear in 31.67. Moloney finished fourth with a double clear in 32.62 on Bailey.

However their positions were reversed two days later, when Moloney and Bailey won the 1.30m Friday class in a time of 55.08, ahead of Blake and Lisalba’s fourth-placed time of 58.91.

Moloney also picked up a seventh place in the 1.40m speed class on Friday with Fiona Van’t Paradijs, adding to his 10th place in Wednesday’s 1.40m class with the same horse.

Blake had already finished 10th in the 1.45m class on the Thursday, riding Doma Sue.

Meanwhile, Paul O’Shea finished fifth in a $8,000 1.45m class at the show, going clear with River Dance Semilly in 63.33.