Wellington, FL – February 5, 2016 – The $35,000 Illustrated Properties 1.45m Classic was held in the International Ring at PBIEC on Friday morning with a win for Eduardo Menezes (BRA) and his 12-year-old Oldenburg mare Carushka 2 (Caspar x Continue). The pair beat out Kristen Vanderveen (USA) and Bull Run’s Eternal by 4/100ths of a second with their winning time of 62.65 seconds.
Eduardo Menezes and Caruschka 2. Photo © Sportfot
Vanderveen settled for second place in 62.69 seconds. Conor Swail (IRL) and Ariel and Susan Grange’s Dillinger placed third in 63.22 seconds, and Shane Sweetnam (IRL) finished fourth in 63.59 seconds riding Spy Coast Farm LLC’s Cyklon 1083.
Guilherme Jorge (BRA) set the speed track for 47 starters and yielded 13 clear rounds in total. Menezes explained that he went 38th in the order and had a good plan set by the time he entered the ring.
“Caruschka is like an ATM machine,” Menezes stated. “If I have the best plan, then normally she is in at least the top three. She is really fast and really careful. This time I was late in the order, so I had time to watch some rounds and see where I could win a couple seconds and where I could also be a little bit more careful here and there, and the plan worked very well.”
“I watched Eric (Lamaze) and I saw Conor Swail. They are both very fast riders,” Menezes continued. “Eric took a little bit of a chance to the triple and I was maybe thinking of doing the same strides there. Then I saw him have one down, so I thought that was a place to save a little bit. Then Conor’s round was pretty good, so I set my plan and it worked well.”
Speaking on where he made up the slight 4/100ths of a second to take the lead, Menezes detailed, “I think the two lines, from jumps one to two and ten to eleven. My mare has a big stride, and instead of doing the lines straight, I bend the lines a little bit. I think that helped me because you can do it faster instead of slowing down. I think that makes the little difference.”
Menezes and Carushka 2 will show again in next week’s CSI 5* competition, once again contesting the 1.45m and 1.50m classes.
“She came to do these classes. She is a real speed horse and that is what she likes,” he concluded.
Eduardo Menezes and Caruschka 2 in their winning presentation, with Rodolfo Maya of Illustrated Properties and ringmaster Christian Craig. Photo © Sportfot
Also showing in the International Ring on Friday, Kelsey Thatcher and Pony Lane Farm’s Everything were victorious in the $2,500 MAYBACH – ICONS OF LUXURY High Amateur-Owner Jumper class. Silvana Cabral and Louis Pedro Biraben’s Toulouse 66 topped the $1,500 Sleepy P Ranch High Junior Jumper class. The $6,000 Illustrated Properties 1.40m Speed Challenge concluded the day, pinned in a California Split with 122 entries. Todd Minikus and Plum Creek Hollow Farm’s Con Capilot completed the fastest time overall to win Section A. Laura Chapot and her own BEC Hugo topped Section B.
Final Results: $35,000 Illustrated Properties 1.45m Classic
1. CARUSCHKA 2: 2004 Oldenburg mare by Caspar x Continue
EDUARDO MENEZES (BRA), Eduardo Menezes: 0/62.65
2. BULL RUN’S ETERNAL: 2003 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Toulon x Mellinor
KRISTEN VANDERVEEN (USA), Bull Run Jumpers One LLC: 0/62.69
3. DILLINGER: 2007 Belgian Warmblood stallion by Contender x Capitol I
CONOR SWAIL (IRL), Ariel and Susan Grange: 0/63.22
4. CYKLON 1083: 2001 Swedish Warmblood stallion by Cardento x Cortus
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Spy Coast Farm LLC: 0/63.59
5. QUOINTREAU UN PRINCE: 2004 Selle Francais gelding by Diamant de Semilly x Rosire
LAURA CHAPOT (USA), Laura Chapot & McLain Ward: 0/63.88
6. DOOLEY’S DELUXE: 2004 SACHS gelding by Dinglinger x Lesotho
VANESSA MANNIX (CAN), Vanessa Mannix: 0/68.25
7. ZERNIKE K: 2004 KWPN gelding by Sam R 60 x H Topas
EDWARD LEVY (FRA), Remarkable Farms LP: 0/68.57
8. HAPPINESS: 2007 Belgian Warmblood mare by Quadrillo x Burggraaf
YANN CANDELE (CAN), Watermark Group: 0/68.61
9. BE GENTLE: 2006 KWPN mare by Ticallux Verte x Gentleman
LILLIE KEENAN (USA), Chansonette Farm LLC: 0/70.06
10. AVALON 280: 2006 Westphalian gelding by Arpeggio x Potsdam
ELIZABETH GINGRAS (CAN), Erickson Halina Group Syndicate: 0/70.95
11. QUINIELA LA SILLA: 2005 SLS mare by Chapultepec la Silla x Quick Star
CELSO ARIANI (BRA), Celso Ariani: 0/71.18
12. AHMED DU CALVAIRE: 2006 Belgian Sport Horse gelding by Cerano x Landwind
ROSS MULHOLLAND (IRL), Frank Stronach: 0/72.30
Source: Lauren Fisher and Callie Seaman for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.