KENNY COMPLETES HAT-TRICK OF WINS AT SPRUCE MEADOWS

TWENTY-six year old Darragh Kenny completed a hat trick of wins at the five-star show in Spruce Meadows, Canada last night (Friday) when he streaked home on Hyperion Stud’s stallion Chin Quidam VDL to take first place in the Pepsi Challenge jump-off class on a double clear round.

The Offaly-born rider was followed in second place by Cork’s Shane Sweetnam, who was just over a second off Kenny’s pace aboard Spy Coast Farm’s mare Mimosa.

Kenny has collected almost 18,000 euro in prize money at Spruce Meadows in the last three days, opening on Wednesday with a win on the Oakland Ventures-owned gelding Picolo, and on the same horse out-jumping a top international field of riders in Thursday’s big 1m50 jump-off class.

Including his most recent win, Kenny has now had eight individual FEI victories over the course of four weeks at Spruce Meadows, as well as a team Nations Cup win for Ireland.

He said last night after winning the Pepsi Challenge with the eight year-old Chin Quidam VDL: “He’s a really, really nice horse, and he only started doing the 1m45 classes here at Spruce. He has really come a long way. Today was only his second time in the big ring, and he really performed well. He is quite competitive.”

Later in the evening, Kilkenny’s Richie Moloney took the runner-up slot in the 1m50 jump-off on Equinimity LLC’s Freestyle de Muze, with Canada’s Eric Lamaze taking the trophy on Fine Lad 5.

On Sunday, Co. Down’s Conor Swail took victory in the 1m50 Enbridge Cup with Susan and Ariel Grange’s Martha Louise.

“I think I was in a nice position there, last to go,” Swail said after his win. “I know at this stage, Martha with her form, that she is normally not far away. She is quick enough to win if I can ride her correctly and give her a good chance to jump the jumps, and thankfully today, that is how it worked out for me.”

Darragh Kenny winning at Spruce Meadows with Chin Quidam VDL