The highlight of the Kentucky Spring Classic took place on Saturday evening with the $134,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix CSI3*, honoring the late Mary Rena Murphy. Hosted in the Rolex Stadium, top horse-and-rider combinations took to the ring hoping to walk away with the week’s highest honors and prize money. After 40 athletes tried their hand, it was Alex Granato (USA) and Page Tredennick’s Carlchen W who excelled with clean and quick rounds to take the night’s victory.
Alex Granato and Carlchen W. Photo by Phelps Sports
The course, designed by Kelvin Bywater (GBR), featured a total of 16 efforts. Challenging athletes with a number of technical elements, such as a triple combination (oxer-vertical-oxer) where numerous pairs fell victim to the second element, five athletes produced clear rounds. The first clear round of the night was produced by Ivan Christiansen (ECU) and his own Olivia Z, who were ninth in Saturday’s order of go. Following their standard, Ali Wolff (USA) and John Wolff’s Quirie 2 were next, coming in under the adjusted time-allowed of 76 seconds with zero jumping faults. Following the halfway drag break, three more athletes would add their names to the jump-off including Karl Cook (USA), Andrew Welles (USA), and Granato.
With a total of five horse-and-rider combinations advancing to the jump-off, Christiansen took to the ring first and once again set the pace with a clear round and a swift time of 49.08 seconds. Entering the ring next, 29-year-old Wolff would best Christiansen’s time by two tenths of a second but fell victim to an unlucky rail. After Cook and Welles both tried their hands at the course, dropping various rails, Granato and his partner of five years, Carlchen W, entered the ring as last to go. The 11-year-old Mecklenberg gelding is a crowd favorite in jump-offs, thanks to his incredible speed and careful style. The pair stopped the clocks at an impressive 46.26 seconds, almost three seconds faster than Christiansen.
Granato and Carlchen W have proved to be fierce competitors together for a number of years, especially gaining notable placings during the 2019 season in Wellington, Florida. The pair dominated at the CP Palm Beach Masters Winter Classic CSI4*-W, hosted at Deeridge Farms, by winning both the $71,200 Suncast® Palm Beach Masters World Cup Qualifier and $208,200 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Wellington CSI4*-W. Carlchen W will help Granato keep a busy schedule through the remainder of the year, traveling to the Upperville Colt & Horse Show in Virginia, in addition to representing the United States in Falsterbo and Hickstead this summer.
Alex Granato and Carlchen W. Photo by Phelps Sports
“He’s been amazing,” shared an elated Granato. “We’ve been together for five and a half years so we have a really fun partnership and we’ve gotten to know each other really well. He’s coming off of a great winter. We haven’t done much the past 7 weeks. We went to Mexico for the Nations Cup where he actually didn’t feel in his best health because the travel was a little hard on him. We’re using this to gear up for our spring circuit. He’s back to feeling himself and he’s really happy.”
Finishing the challenging class in second place would be Christiansen and Olivia Z. Representing Ecuador, Christiansen and Oliva Z, have recently placed in the top ten at CSI1* events in Quito, Ecuador, in January, 2019. Olivia Z, a 10-year-old grey mare, is a promising partner for Christiansen as they look to future competitions together.
Wolff and Quirie 2, a 12-year-old Warmblood ultimately ended the night in third place. Prior to the Kentucky Spring Classic, Wolff and her longtime partner Casall found themselves in the top three on multiple occasions during the Kentucky Spring Horse Show, including the $36,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic and the $134,000 Kentucky Spring Grand Prix CSI3*. Wolff and Quirie 2 have been partnered together since 2015, with placings up to the CSI5* level.
Alex Granato and Carlchen W with the family of the late Mary Rena Murphy. Photo by Phelps Sports
RESULTS
$134,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix CSI3*
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / R1 Faults | Time / R2 Faults | Time
1. Carlchen W / Alex Granato / USA / 0 | 75.63 / 0 | 46.26
2. Olivia Z / Ivan Christiansen / ECU / 0 | 74.95 / 0 | 49.08
3. Quirie 2 / Ali Wolff / USA / 0 | 73.44 / 4 | 48.87
4. Primo Troy / Andrew Welles / USA / 0 | 73.26 / 4 | 49.75
5. Caillou 24 / Karl Cook / USA / 0 | 74.50 / 8 | 49.48
6. Donner / Peter Leone / USA / 1 | 76.32
7. Colorado 210 / Luis Biraben / ARG / 4 | 69.48
8. Country Boy / Andrew Kocher / USA / 4 | 71.10
9. Shorapur / Kevin Babington / IRL / 4 | 71.61
10. MTM Vivre Le Reve / Brian Moggre / USA / 4 | 71.93
11. Fee Des Sequoias Z / Juan Manuel Gallego Martinez / COL / 4 | 72.54
12. Rocksy Music / Richie Moloney / IRL / 4 | 73.71