WELLINGTON, Fla.--Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam on Coriaan van Klapscheut Z won their second WEF Challenge Cup of the season on March 26 in Thursday’s $116,100 CSI5* class.
Shane Sweetnam on Corlaan van Klapscheut Z (Photo by Sportfot)The week’s first qualifier for Saturday's $1 million Grand Prix, a Rolex Series Event, was run under a Winning Round format in which the top 12 qualified to return for round two.
As a qualifier for the Grand Prix, one would have expected a tough course.
But in the Challenge Cup. in which the 30 top finishers would qualify for the Grand Prix, 25, almost half of the class of 60, went clean over the course set by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil..
Ironically, Richie Vogel, in a press conference the day before, had said. "Everyone wants to be on top of their game. That’s what makes it even more exciting, it’s a guarantee of top sport. The classes are faster and the course designers build a little more, because everyone is in top form.”
And after 10 of the first 15 in the class went clean, it turned into a speed contest.
THEN, WHEN five of the top 12 withdrew from the second round, the class turned out to be even more disappointing.
Only two of the seven that went in round two were clean, with Sweetnam winning in 39.71 over Vogel on Cloudio, who finished in 40.50.
Daniel Bluman of Israel on Hummer Z placed third with the fastest time of 39.55 seconds of those with four faults.
“Any win in the WEF is a big deal,” said Sweetnam, who had also won the WEF Challenge Cup during Week 10, also aboard Coriaan van Klapscheut Z. “There were two plans for him this week, one to qualify, and two to win the class.”
“He’s brilliant, so consistent, especially now in the last six weeks," said Sweetnam. "We’ve figured each other out, and we’re in contention for most classes. I felt Coriaan could go clear and have a chance of winning, so I figured it was a good gamble. It keeps Gizmo [James Kann Cruz] fresh for Saturday night.”
With his qualification complete, Sweetnam has elected to ride his Olympic mount, James Kann Cruz, in the Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Rolex Series includes seven events, beginning in Wellington and culminating in Brussels, with the world’s top riders competing for the win.
The $1m Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix begins the series during Saturday Night Lights on March 28.
“The Rolex finale at WEF is always a big deal,” said Sweetnam, who dedicated Thursday’s win to his wife Ali after celebrating her birthday a day earlier. “There’s a real big grand prix feel about it, not just for America, but really for the world. Now being a million dollars this year, it has even more. It’s a big part of the calendar every year for the best horses.”
