Ben Maher claims another victory at the Wellington Turf Tour Grand Prix
The sun was getting low in the sky at the Ridge at Wellington as Britain's Olympic Gold Medalist Ben Maher entered the Grand Prix Field. Aboard his most recent mount Diva, Maher, the number two ranked rider in the Longines World Rankings, tackled the track and climbed to the top of the leader board for Friday's 1.40m Wellington Turf Tour. It was a moment that marked a solid beginning for the pair-their first win as a team.
The Wellington Turf Tour came home to the Ridge at Wellington for the third week of competition, and with a meticulously designed course by Kenneth Krome, the scene was set for exciting jumper action.
Sweden's Alexander Zetterman set an early lead this morning as the first rider of the day. He piloted Canora, owned by Pine Hollow Farm, to a clear first round and then blazed around the shortened track. An unfortunate rail at the opening fence of the jump off cost him the win today, but his time of 42.806 seconds set the pace for the remaining contenders.
It was Danielle Goldstein, riding for Israel, who had the first double-clear effort. Aboard Carisma, owned by Israeli Equestrian Partners, she took a conservative approach to the obstacles, finishing in 50.175 seconds. Her lead was short lived as Irishman David Blake entered the scene.
Riding Aischa, owned by Pine Hollow Farm, Blake cleared the first round with ease and moved into the jump off. They finessed the seven efforts with ease, tripping the timer in 41.410 seconds to take over the spot at the pinnacle of the rankings.
“We have had her for about a year, and she has had really good results so far this circuit,” Blake recounted. “It is nice to bring her here, some place different. It is a little spooky for them, probably because it is so quiet and such a large grass field. I thought it was a nice course. There is a lot of color out there, and a lot of lines. It is the perfect way to educate the horses.”
Blake laughed, “She pulled a shoe there at some stage of it, so that didn't make it easy for her. She is a jumper, so she kept going. She went really well, even with three shoes.”
$15,000 1.40M Grand Prix Table II Sec 2b
1st Diva – Ben Maher – 0 0 0 67.515 0 0 0 39.812
2nd Aischa – David Blake – 0 0 0 69.969 0 0 0 41.410
3rd Doma Sue – David Blake – 0 0 0 71.583 0 0 0 42.806
4th Bernadien Van Westuur – Ben Meredith – 0 0 0 70.239 0 0 0 44.664
5th Carisma – Danielle Goldstein – 0 0 0 73.585 0 0 0 50.175
6th Canora – Alexander Zetterman – 000 4 0 4 42.359
7th Thea – Samuel Parot – 4 0 4 65.741
8th Cita Z – Shawn Casady – 4 0 4 66.308