KILDARE’S Mikey Pender is certainly on form at the moment and proved that his Grand Prix win at Chard the previous weekend was no accident, when winning the two-star Big Tour 1.45m Grand Prix including Longines Ranking at Chepstow Spring International (Wales and West) in the UK on Sunday.
Pender rode HHS Cornetta (ISH) in the class of 62 starters and was among 12 managing to jump clear in the first round. Only five of those kept all the poles intact in the jump-off, with Pender’s time of 36.32 seconds being the fastest, to secure him the win. The runner-up spot went to Britain’s William Whitaker riding Chacco’s Lando (37.99), who also took second at Chard!
HHS Cornetta is a nine-year-old mare by Cornet Obolensky (BWP) out of HHS Acorado (ISH) by Acorado (HOLST), bred by Marion Hughes and owned by Bravo Hughes Ltd.
Pender’s good fortune continued, as he rode HHS Cyprus to also win the CSI2* Small Tour 1.30m class, where 25 went to post in the one-round class. Pender jumped clear in 58.55 seconds to finish 1.4 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, Britain’s Nicole Lockhead Anderson on Christian Street (59.95).
In the ribbons
Competitions at Chepstow Spring International began on Thursday, April 25th, when Ireland’s Taylor Peare on Inpulss placed fifth in the CSI2* Small Tour 1.30m class. The CSI2* Medium Tour 1.35m class saw Patrick Hickey take fifth with Corraghoe Red, with Anthony Condon on Zira vh Kapelhof Z in sixth and Shane Breen on Be Qvikly Star in eighth.
In the Big Tour 1.40m class, Pender rode HHS Cyprus into third place, followed by Breen on Koh-I-Noor in sixth and David Simpson on Billy Piccadilly in ninth.
Meanwhile, Jessica Burke on Billy Mufasa placed sixth in the CSI1* Platinum Tour 1.35m class. In the CSIYH1* Five-year-old Tour 1.10m class, Greg Le Gear on O Halifax Boy DL were joint winners. Le Gear was also a joint winner in the Six-year-old Tour 1.20m class, this time with Gucci’s Envoy, as were Pender on board HHS Flonix and HHS Untouchable and Simpson on Billy Whiskey. Le Gear rode Ilda du Ruisseau into eighth place in the CSI1* Bronze Tour 1.05m class.
Friday saw a win for Peare and Inpulss in the CSI2* Small Tour 1.30m class, with Condon on Zira vh Kapelhof Z in sixth.
Cork’s Billy Twomey took third place in the Big Tour 1.45m Longines Ranking class riding 16-year-old stallion Chat Botte ED. There were 63 starters in the class, with only five making it through to the jump-off, where Twomey stopped the clock in 37.61 seconds, less than a second behind the winner, Britain’s George Whitaker on Peanut (36.78) and less than half a second behind runner-up, Joseph Clayton on Gentlemen van het Veldhof (37.19). Hickey on Casago II placed seventh in the class.
Le Gear on O Halifax Boy DL was a joint winner in the day’s Five-year-old Tour 1.10m class, while Niamh Devlin on Fernhill Clooney was runner-up in the CSI1* Bronze Tour 1.05m class. The Gold Tour 1.25m class saw Burke finish in 10th place with Romelus de Muze.
On Saturday, Burke on Billy Be Boss placed fourth in the CSI2* Big Tour 1.40m class, while in the Small Tour 1.35m final, Peare on Inpulss placed fifth and Condon on Zira vh Kapelhof Z followed in sixth. The Medium Tour 1.40m final saw Breen finish third on board Fanfan de Beaufour, followed by Twomey on Ace of Hearts Z in sixth.
Burke placed sixth in the CSI1* Platinum Tour 1.35m class riding Billy Mufasa. The day’s Six-year-old Tour 1.25m class saw Le Gear on Gucci’s Envoy and Pender on HHS Flonix as joint winners.
Top spot
There was further success for the Irish, as Twomey took the top spot in the CSI1* Platinum Tour 1.40m Final on Quelle Dame Ven’T Meerhof. Le Gear on O Halifax Boy DL placed eighth in the Five-year-old 1.10m Final, while Seamus Hughes Kennedy on Curra Ferro were seventh in the CSI1* Gold Tour 1.30m Final.