As the designer of the Sun Life Derby, Leopoldo Palacios was hoping for basically one thing.
“You know me,” he smiled, “I like one clean.”
Manuel Gonzalez Dufrane was happy to oblige.
The 30-year-old Mexican rider and Martialis were the lone pairing to emerge from the gruelling derby course unscathed, going clear in a time of 148.99 on the final day of the Spruce Meadows North American tournament.
“It’s an amazing day,” Gonzalez admitted. “It’s my second win but I’m really happy for winning this. It’s incredible. I was hoping first of all not having a time fault and then not knocking a fence from that last line. Luckily I was able to clear it.”
Two years ago, Gonzalez finished seventh.
“I’m very pleased with my horse, he jumped amazing the whole season,” he added. “And now finishing with a win is the best way we can finish.”
Czech rider Vaclav Stanek and Jasper were second, taking down the last jump and posting a time of 151.29. Australia’s Katie Laurie and Django II were third, also finishing with four faults in 153.00.
The nefarious Devil’s Dyke took its share of prisoners, but there were still a healthy number of horse-rider combinations that managed to get through the three-part jump neatly. Unfortunately, that joy was short-lived for several riders as they proceeded to take down the next obstacle, a deceptively dangerous blue oxer.
“There are lot of questions but I would say the Devil’s Dyke is difficult,” agreed Gonzalez, a member of Mexico’s 2020 Olympic team. “The time allowed (158 seconds) is also quite short so I was worried about doing the inside turns.”
For Stanek, it was a first try at a derby for both he and his 10-year-old mount.
“Even though I didn’t win today, it’s really a dream come true because I always wanted to jump the derby,” said the 29-year-old. “I’m so happy I could jump it today on a younger horse. I’m lucky we have the Devil’s Dyke and the tabletop back home at Lothlorien (Stables) so the horses know it and are familiar with it. I was more worried about the number of jumps.”
Stanek came into the Spruce Meadows summer series ranked 1,813th in the world. On the strength of his first five-star grand prix win in June, as well as other top finishes, he leaves at number 718, a remarkable jump.
“It was great to come here, knowing I’d have a chance to jump Quintin in the five-star grand prix, which I’d never jumped,” he said. “To win it was amazing. We have a couple of young horses here that did well and gained great experience. I’m so happy to be here and hope that I can come again.”
Laurie, too, was thrilled with her horse’s performance, given that he had competed the day before in the ATCO Queen Elizabeth II Cup grand prix.
“He’s a half thoroughbred so I think sometimes he needs to do more than I do with him,” Laurie pointed out. “I was a bit disappointed yesterday and he’s never done the derby and he felt good this morning so we thought we’d give it a go. I thought he jumped great, better today than yesterday. He finished on a really good note.
“He’s never even seen the Devil’s Dyke before. I chose not to show it to him, with the surprise factor, but he jumped out good. We were so close but just that last line got us.”
Palacios, who has for years built the derby course, was adamant that it’s a worthy class, despite the fact that there aren’t many left in the show jumping world.
“We had a lot of horses in the derby (26) and I’m very happy with the way the riders and the horses jumped,” he said. “This demonstrates that the derby is an important class and we try to improve it every year. We try to have more and more riders every year and I think we succeeded.
“The crowd loves it.”
In the 1.45m Kubota Cup, a speed class, Britain’s Donald Whitaker and Ulania 3 captured top spot. The lead was held for the longest time by young American rider Mckayla Langmeier and Chadina, at 76.88. But when it was their try, Whitaker and Ulania 3 did some major motoring through the course, crossing the finish at 76.45.
The facility will be quiet for a number of weeks prior to the Masters tournament in early September.