Dec 22,2024
Darragh Kenny enjoyed a victory in the Christmas Tree Stakes on day three of the London International Horse Show at the Excel Arena in London.
The Christmas Tree Speed Stakes saw 10 combinations advance to the jump-off. Second to go against the clock, the Offaly rider, with the long-striding gelding Chaccossini, set the pressure on the remaining combinations with a time of 33.13 seconds.
Britain's Donald Whitaker came closest to matching Kenny's time to claim second place, with last year’s class winner Lorenzo de Luca from Italy taking third.
"I was quite worried I wasn’t going to make it into the second round as I hadn’t done the turn to the last line that most people did, and that left me quite slow, so in the second round I thought I’d better do the opposite," said Kenny.
"He has a huge stride, so I could do one less in the first line, one less across the middle, which nobody else was able to do, and one less to the last - he’s very careful and he’s very brave, so you can rely on him.
"This is my second show with him - I took him to one two-star show where he won the ranking class and then I brought him here. He’s a really cool horse, he’s fun, he’s easy to ride, he’s not complicated at all, so I’m really enjoying him."
Elsewhere, in Friday's feature five-star Longines Grand Prix, Daniel Coyle and the brilliant 14-year-old mare Legacy secure a fourth place finish. Just six of the 35 starters jumped clear in the first round, with Coyle first to go against the clock.
The Derry rider produced the fastest time of the jump-off (36.57), however, one fence down denied him victory. The winner's prize went to Spanish rider Mariano Martinez Bastida and Jup with a clear in 37.15.
