PrintIt took him 27 years, butAustralian veteran Andrew Hoy finally won the MitsubishiMotors Trophy at the Badminton CCI****, May 4-7, leading from start to finish on Moonfleet.
The victory, in Gloucester, England, contained so many "firsts" it is hard to know which to headline: Andrew was the first Australian to win in 45 years and the first dressage day leader (on 36 penalties) to win in 13 years; he is the oldest champion (at 47); and it means the Rolex Grand Slam is again a possibility following Hoy's win the previous week at Rolex Kentucky.
But most distinctive of all is that at the exact moment Moonfleet set out on the cross-country, 120 miles away in Newmarket, George Washington was running away with the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, the first of the 2006 "Classics" for the same owner, Sue Magnier.
George Washington, bred by Lael Stable, cost 1,150,000 guineas ($2,165,857) at Tattersalls in October 2004; by contrast, racing-bred Moonfleet was bought for 50,000 guineas ($64,147) at the same venue in 1995 and went point-to-pointing before moving to eventing in 1998, winning the Burghley CCI**** (England) along the way in 2004. He has something of the fleet-footedness of his racing stablemate, for Hoy took long routes at two fences but still finished inside the time.
"Moonfleet might make it look easy, but there was plenty of jumping to be done out there; he is such a talented horse," Hoy said.
Runner-up spot--and the best-ever German result--went to team regular Ingrid Klimke with Sleep Late, Hoy's nearest challenger throughout despite a show jump down. Rising British star Oliver Townend, 23, set the foundation for third place with an in-touch dressage score (43.5) on Flint Curtis, whom he has only been riding for three months. They held onto their cross-country position despite two show jumps down.
Jeanette Brakewell bene-fited from a tough show jumping track, which saw several leading contenders plummet out of the picture, including Hoy on his second ride, Mr Pracatan, who dropped from sixth to 15th. Brakewell's Over To You jumped one of only seven clear rounds from 53 completions to rise from 11th to fourth.
Several other top finishers were posting their best four-star results, including full-time veterinarian James Robinson and Com-manche, fifth, and relative newcomer Sharon Hunt and Tankers Town, who took the owner-rider prize. Lucy Wiegersma, whose Dutch-born father Henrik's West Country yard has sold hundreds of good horses on the national and European circuit, finished seventh on Shabraak.
Tough Breaks
As usual, though, there was angst aplenty for leading contenders, and for once William Fox-Pitt and Pippa Funnell found themselves at the sharp end of the pens.
Fox-Pitt withdrew 2005 winner Tamarillo after a dres-sage score not to his usual high standard (49.8), though still in the top 12. This incurred the wrath of event director Hugh Thomas and, more generally, accusations of "spoil-sport" behavior.
Fox-Pitt, conscious that his crashing fall with Coup de Couer at Rolex Kentucky has reduced his options for the World Equestrian Games, said he did not want to risk Tamarillo and that he was surprised at the uproar.
The victory, in Gloucester, England, contained so many "firsts" it is hard to know which to headline: Andrew was the first Australian to win in 45 years and the first dressage day leader (on 36 penalties) to win in 13 years; he is the oldest champion (at 47); and it means the Rolex Grand Slam is again a possibility following Hoy's win the previous week at Rolex Kentucky.
But most distinctive of all is that at the exact moment Moonfleet set out on the cross-country, 120 miles away in Newmarket, George Washington was running away with the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, the first of the 2006 "Classics" for the same owner, Sue Magnier.
George Washington, bred by Lael Stable, cost 1,150,000 guineas ($2,165,857) at Tattersalls in October 2004; by contrast, racing-bred Moonfleet was bought for 50,000 guineas ($64,147) at the same venue in 1995 and went point-to-pointing before moving to eventing in 1998, winning the Burghley CCI**** (England) along the way in 2004. He has something of the fleet-footedness of his racing stablemate, for Hoy took long routes at two fences but still finished inside the time.
"Moonfleet might make it look easy, but there was plenty of jumping to be done out there; he is such a talented horse," Hoy said.
Runner-up spot--and the best-ever German result--went to team regular Ingrid Klimke with Sleep Late, Hoy's nearest challenger throughout despite a show jump down. Rising British star Oliver Townend, 23, set the foundation for third place with an in-touch dressage score (43.5) on Flint Curtis, whom he has only been riding for three months. They held onto their cross-country position despite two show jumps down.
Jeanette Brakewell bene-fited from a tough show jumping track, which saw several leading contenders plummet out of the picture, including Hoy on his second ride, Mr Pracatan, who dropped from sixth to 15th. Brakewell's Over To You jumped one of only seven clear rounds from 53 completions to rise from 11th to fourth.
Several other top finishers were posting their best four-star results, including full-time veterinarian James Robinson and Com-manche, fifth, and relative newcomer Sharon Hunt and Tankers Town, who took the owner-rider prize. Lucy Wiegersma, whose Dutch-born father Henrik's West Country yard has sold hundreds of good horses on the national and European circuit, finished seventh on Shabraak.
Tough Breaks
As usual, though, there was angst aplenty for leading contenders, and for once William Fox-Pitt and Pippa Funnell found themselves at the sharp end of the pens.
Fox-Pitt withdrew 2005 winner Tamarillo after a dres-sage score not to his usual high standard (49.8), though still in the top 12. This incurred the wrath of event director Hugh Thomas and, more generally, accusations of "spoil-sport" behavior.
Fox-Pitt, conscious that his crashing fall with Coup de Couer at Rolex Kentucky has reduced his options for the World Equestrian Games, said he did not want to risk Tamarillo and that he was surprised at the uproar.
