DARRAGH Kenny ended the penultimate week of competition at the 2023 Winter Equestrian Festival on a high when galloping to victory in the $226,000 Bainbridge Companies four-star Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon at Wellington International. The 35-year-old Irish Olympian continues to make his debut season with the 13-year-old Hanoverian mare Vancouver Dreams a winning one.

With only U.S. challenger Lillie Keenan left to come behind him from a seven-horse jump-off, Kenny did just enough to keep the win in hand. Vancouver Dreams (Valentino 240 x Stakkato) broke the timers in 36.18 seconds over the Olaf Petersen Jr. (GER) designed track.

Kenny qualified for the Grand Prix during the Adequan WEF Challenge Cup on Friday, but elected not to jump off with Vancouver Dreams, a strategy that paid on Sunday. “You don’t have to worry about the jumps in the jump-off, you just have to get the right spot. She’s an incredible horse,” he commented after.

“She’s like 15 out of 10 careful, so the most important thing is to get her to relax, come down a little bit and not stay up in the air,” said Kenny, who took over the ride on Vancouver Dreams at the start of the year after being handed the reins from Austria’s Max Kühner. “She tried her guts out today and was brilliant. You can’t help but love her.”

Keenan settled for second riding longtime partner Fasther (Vigo d Arsouilles STX x Farmer), owned by Chansonette Farm. They stopped the clock at 37.85 seconds. Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts rounded out the podium with a jump-off time of 38.11 seconds riding Luna van’t Ruytershof Z (Levisto Z x For Pleasure) for owners Team Philippaerts and Stuteri Arch.

Sunday’s Grand Prix marked Kenny’s second win of the season aboard Vancouver Dreams after claiming a 1.50m victory earlier in the season. Their success has come thanks to support on the ground from Germany’s Markus Beerbaum during the winter season in Wellington.

“He’s excellent on the ground, and it’s nice to have someone else’s eyes on the horse,” said Kenny. “I’ve done a lot of it myself since working for Missy [Clark] and John [Brennan], and it’s nice to have someone like Markus with his experience and knowledge to help finish things off. When I got her, she was a bit tense and she would freeze a bit in the air. We have spent a lot of time trying to get her to relax and jump the jumps a bit softer. She just jumps clear rounds,” concluded Kenny with a smile.

To close the afternoon, winning groom of Vancouver Dreams, Shauna Murray, was honoured with the $500 Grooms Award, presented by Double H Farm.

Series title

Darragh Kenny’s consistency throughout the season earned him the 2023 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Series overall title. With three recent top-five placings on three different horses, Kenny sealed the deal.

“I’ve been coming here for 12 years, and this is probably the best season I’ve ever had. I have some great horses at the moment, they all performed excellent during the season and I’m happy they had that much success. I had a couple of good and experienced horses between Vancouver Dreams and Chic Chic who were amazing all winter. I’m very lucky I have a couple of really good owners right now and some nice horses, so it’s been a top season for me,” said Kenny.

Four-star for McCarthy

Cork’s Simon McCarthy won the four-star $39,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty 1.45m in Wellington on Thursday afternoon aboard Gotcha.

McCarthy put in a fantastic performance, clocking 57.28 seconds to earn $12,870. Galway’s David O’Brien took second place with a clear aboard El Balou OLD, just a second slower in 58.68 seconds. The Greg Broderick-bred BP Wakita (Pacino x Cruising) was fourth under Columbia’s Roberto Teran Tafur, while Bertram Allen slotted into sixth with Caprisco, clear in 62.28 seconds.

McCarthy said: “I’m delighted to get the win here at WEF with Gotcha and very grateful to her owners Dan and Doug Towriss. I haven’t done a lot with her during the circuit to try have her fresh for the summer shows in America and it seems like she’s peaking just in time for that.”