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McLain Ward and Miss Liberty 7 Take Top Spot in $8,000 Sentient Jet 1.45m at WEF
Wellington, FL, USA
Photo: Randy Muster
Today's class opened up competition for the third week of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), and the week three title sponsor is Nespresso. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 4, 2010, and the circuit will be awarding almost $6 million in prize money through the circuit. Olaf Petersen Jr. joins the FTI WEF this week as course designer in the International Arena. He designed a course to welcome jumper riders in the third week. Out of 27 entries, there were 14 clean rounds over the Time First Round format. The early leader was Pablo Barrios (VEN) and G&C Quick Star, owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal. They set the time to beat at 63.418 seconds, which would hold up for second place at the end of the class. Riding out of the 11th spot in the order, Ward and Miss Liberty 7, owned by Overlook Farm Inc., cruised around the course and crossed the timers in 62.814 seconds to take over the lead. Taking a bid at the lead was third place finisher, Maggie Jayne, on Pony Land Farm's Esquilino Bay. They finished in 64.173 seconds. Angela Covert-Lawrence (CAN) and the Eastwood Group's Unica van de Roshoeve were fourth in 64.460 seconds, while Christina Kelly and With Wings, owned by Raylyn Farms LLC, were fifth in 65.759 seconds. Miss Liberty 7, a 15-year-old Oldenburg mare by Liberty M xx Rouletto, has been in Ward's barn for a year, where she is for sale. "She's been a great winner over the last year," Ward said. Today's class was not a warm-up for Ward. He explained, "I use her here to win these types of classes. She's 15 now, so she's a little older, but very healthy. It's nice to try and win some prize money during the week with her." Miss Liberty 7 and Ward will compete again in the Spy Coast 1.40m Jumpers on Friday in the International Arena, and their plan is to show in the $50,000 CN Palm Beach Derby, which will be held in The Stadium on Sunday, February 21, during week six of the 2010 FTI WEF. Ward believes that she will be a top competitor for the derby with her experience at such top derby competitions as Spruce Meadows Masters. The third week of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival continues tomorrow with the third round of the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup at 1 p.m. The $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes will run on Saturday, January 30, at 7 p.m., following a special exhibition of the Budweiser Clydesdales. On Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., the $75,000 Nespresso Grand Prix, CSI 2* will round out the competition for the week. Final Results: $8,000 Sentient Jet 1.45m Timed First Round | ||
