Moloney bags second Jumper Classic

For the second year in a row, show jumper Richie Moloney won the $34,000 Suncast 1m50 Championship Jumper Classic at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida.

The Kilkenny rider qualified two horses for the seven-horse jump-off and raced into the lead with Equinimity LLC’s Elouise de Muze in 38.45 seconds.

However, 16-year-old Brazilian Joao Victor Castro took two-tenths of a second off the target with Wamira.

Moloney returned with Equinimity LLC’s Alsvid and, last to go, he secured an emphatic win in 36.94 seconds. Last year’s win came with the Irish Sport Horse Slieveanorra.

“I just remembered that I won it last year, so I was a little bit motivated to do it again, and I wore the same jacket,” joked the US-based rider.

Of the third-placed Elouise de Muze, a 10-year-old Belgian warmblood, he said: “She is pretty green and this is her first 1.50m this year, so I was very happy with her. It is her first time to go that quick in the jump-off, and she was close enough.”

Having been relieved of the lead by Castro, he felt compelled to have a go with the 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding Alsvid: “I probably would not have gone as quick with him, except that I knew I wasn’t in the lead anymore with the other.

“He is a horse that I have had since I started the job with Equinimity, and he is a lovely horse to work with. They have owned him since he was five as far as I know, and he is always knocking on the door, so he was due a result.”

Meanwhile Thomas O’Brien jumped to the top of the HSI/Connolly’s Red Mills Spring Tour yesterday with victory in Ballinamona, Co Waterford. The Galway rider had finished runner-up in Claremorris, Co Mayo, on Sunday in the second of a weekender triple-header to move into third place on the table, but yesterday’s result put him on 42 points, five points clear of Conor McEneaney. Defending champion Daniel Coyle is now in third on the table on 34 points.

Marion Hughes had two horses of five in yesterday’s jump-off and set a target with HHS Flo when first in that proved unbeatable until O’Brien entered the arena when last to go with Ullrich and came home over half a second faster.