James Brennan (IRL) and The Statesman—better known around the barn as “Sleepy Joe”—stormed to victory in the $20,000 Odlum Brown Grand Prix at Thunderbird Show Park’s Western Family on Sunday, securing the biggest win yet of their budding partnership.
Seven pairs found a clear path around Ben Townley’s 1.40m course to advanced to the jump-off. Brennan’s strategy was simple: save strides early.
“I think I won it from fence one to two,” said the Irishman. “I saw a couple people do the nine [strides] and I thought that’s one place I could be quicker—do eight there, then the seven [strides up the line] would be easy to give me a tighter turn back to the double,” Brennan explained.
A “bit of a risky turn” to the penultimate jump and eight strides to the final fence clinched the win.
Brennan and the bay gelding stopped the timers in 36.59 seconds, topping a competitive field that included Bryna Closson (USA) aboard Meteoric Rise in second with a time of 37.06 and Laina Summers (USA) riding Greannanstown Max A Million in third on 37.97. Top Canadian was Tracey Epp with BP Lady Masterpiece, 4th.
Sunday’s victory marks the first Grand Prix title for the relatively new partnership. Brennan purchased The Statesman from Irish breeder Catriona Fallon last July and sent him to Viktor Daem in Belgium for 90 days to gain exposure at different venues before importing the horse to North America.
Despite their early success, Brennan is playing the long game with the promising eight-year-old by Celtic Hero B Z.
“For me, I’m lucky to have him. I haven’t had a lot of horses anywhere near his talent, in my opinion,” he shared. “He’s capable of jumping bigger right now but I think I’ll just slowly build him and hopefully then you have a horse that peaking when he’s 10.”
The plan is deliberate: “Pick classes that work for him and move him up and down a little bit. And just enjoy it.”
If Sunday’s performance is any indication, the Brennan-Sleepy Joe ticket has only just begun its campaign—and the future looks bright.
Hunter/jumper competition returns to tbird in August with the CSI3* Summer Fort Welcome, Aug 4–9, and CSI3* Summer Fort Classic, Aug 11–16.
$20,000 Odlum Brown Grand Prix 1.40m
1. The Statesman, James Brennan (IRL) 0 / 0 | 36.59
2. Meteoric Rise, Bryna Closson (USA) 0 / 0 | 37.06
3. Greannanstown Max A Million, Laina Summers (USA) Bayview Farm 0 / 0 | 37.97
4. BP Lady Masterpiece, Tracey Epp (CAN) 0 / 0 | 39.63
5. Macgyver, Laura Jane Tidball (CAN) 0 / 0 | 40.71
Results here.
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