 |
| |
|
Posted March 2, 2006 Joe Fargis and Edgar 12 Race to $20,000 Welcome Stake Win as Global Champions Week Gets Underway at 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival
Today’s opening event, the $20,000 1.45m Welcome Stake, was scored under FEI Art. 238.2.1, Table A, Time First Round. The Internationale Arena Course Designer this week is Italy’s Marco Cortinovis. An imposing starting field of 107 of the world’s best riders went to the early morning post for today’s inaugural event. Thirty nine of the starters were fault free, one had a single time fault, and another thirty four competitors rolled a single rail, picking up four faults. Twenty-one had two knockdowns, and eleven had more than eight. Olympic Gold Medalist Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, first to go in the all-morning long affair, set the early pace with Cantate Z, cruising home clean in a speedy time of 62.35 seconds. That would hold up for an eventual fourth place finish once the dust had settled. Pessoa’s stint at the top of the charts lasted until he was overtaken twenty-one horses later by another Olympic Gold Medalist, Joe Fargis of the United States. Riding Mary B. Schwab’s Edgar 12, Fargis sliced 1.51 seconds off of the Brazilian’s leading time, tripping the timers in a remarkable 60.84 seconds. The eighty plus remaining in the class would chase that time all morning long, with no success. McLain Ward of the United States would come the closest, but as fast as he was, he still fell 1.32 seconds shy of Fargis’ blistering pace. Ward, aboard the Gut Einhaus, LLC entry of Optimum Pozitano, clocked in at 62.16 seconds. Sixteen year-old Addison Phillips of the United States would eventually drop Pessoa to fourth place as she raced home in 62.20 seconds on her mount Flight. “I wouldn’t have thought my time would have held up through so many,” said a smiling Fargis following his win. “There were so many left after me, the odds were so against me, but it held up, and I’m happy for that. I’m a happy guy.” Fargis went on to say, “I went very early. I didn’t see many of the others go, but I rode it as I walked it, and it worked out nicely.” Today marked the start of a very busy two weeks of action here in Wellington as the Winter Equestrian Festival enters the home stretch before moving on to Tampa at the end of March. At 1 p.m. on Thursday, it’s Round Six of the $35,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series, one of only four qualifying events remaining for the FTI Riders Challenge, a rider bonus pool of $200,000 for the riders receiving the most points in the seven Thursday and seven Sunday Grand Prix events that are part of the WEF Wellington series. On Friday, in addition to the Acorn Hill Speed Challenge in the afternoon, the top Amateur-Owner jumper riders will compete in the Solaray A/O Gamblers Choice at 7 p.m. Following that class, the $50,000 1.50m Jump for a Just World Classic will highlight the world’s best riders. They will compete for the first time under the lights at the Internationale Arena. On Saturday, the $25,000 1.45m Amateur Special Invitation (GCT) Show Jumping Hall of Fame event starts out the day, and the €25,000 Global Champions Tour 1.50m Classic wraps it up. Sunday’s star studded day begins with the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Jumper Classic and the Senior Classic. On Sunday afternoon at 2p.m., the $150,000 CN Worldwide Florida Open, presented by Cosequin marks the debut of the Global Champions Tour. Sunday’s main event is also the fifth stop on the year long American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Tour. Next week, the final week in Wellington, features the $75,000 Nations’ Cup presented by CN, CSIO 5*, a competition that pits teams of show jumpers from multiple countries against each other in two rounds of competition. The 2006 Nations’ Cup, presented by CN on Friday, March 10th, marks the fifth time that the Winter Equestrian Festival will host this prestigious international event. Making the competition especially exciting, the Nations’ Cup will once again be held at night under lights in the Internationale Arena. The richest show jumping event of the seven weeks in Wellington will take center stage on Sunday, March 12th. The $150,000 US Open Jumper Championship, presented by CN, CSIO 5*, brings the WEF Wellington series to a close. Results of Class 100 $23,720 Welcome Stake FEI Art 238.2.1 Table A-Internationale Arena- CN Worldwide Wellington Open CSI 3* - 03/01/06
PHOTO CREDIT: Edgar 12 and Joe Fargis with Wednesday Wellington Win. Photo by Randi Muster |
|
|
| Contact Horsesdaily HorsesDaily®, ScoreSource® and PhelpsPhotos® are registered trademarks of Phelps Hathaway Enterprises,Inc. All content under this copyright is the property of PHE, Inc. unless otherwise noted. ©1997-2005 horsesdaily.com All Rights Reserved |
Wellington,
FL – March 1, 2006 – Nineteen nations had representatives
in the starting lineup for the opening event of the sixth week of action
at the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian
Club in Wellington, Florida. This week, the CN Worldwide Wellington
Open, presented by Cosequin, CSI 5* also features the debut of the all
new Global Champions Tour. The tour links six of the world’s most
prestigious outdoor show jumping events and begins officially on Sunday
in Wellington. Each GCT Grand Prix will carry a purse of $150,000. A
rider’s bonus pool of $600,000 will be split among the top eight
finishers in the series.
