Omaha, Nebraska – May 6, 2016 – Tracy Fenney rode MTM Reve du Paradis to victory in the $40,000 Mutual of Omaha Bank Speed Derby at the fifth annual International Omaha. Fenney topped a field of 35 horses by turning in the fastest fault-free ride in the one-round class.
Tracy Fenney and MTM Reve du Paradis
Riding 20th in the order, Fenney guided her 11-year-old, Selle Francais to a clean round in 57.10 seconds over the 14-effort course designed by Alan Wade. That was good enough to take over the lead from Andrew Kocher who had taken an early lead on Uppie de Lis with a clean round in 64.84 seconds.
Tracy Fenney receives her awards
No one came close to Fenney until the penultimate ride of the night when Lisa Goldman thrilled the crowd of 4,379 with an electrifying ride on Centurion B. Goldman finished clean on her 14-year-old, American-bred, but her time of 57.83 just missed Fenney’s time and gave her a second-place finish.
“It was a thrilling night,” Fenney said. “The crowd really pumps you up. We don’t do a lot of speed classes these days and it turned out to be a very exciting night.”
Goldman said that she could feel the crowd rooting for her and her long-time partner that she’s had since he was two years old. “He really felt the crowd pulling for him and I think it really helped him. He’s very much my partner and he took good care of me tonight.”
Christian Heineking of Germany finished third with a clean ride in 59.14 seconds on Aje Cluny with Kocher holding on to fourth.
Full results are available at the International Omaha website at www.internationalomaha.com.