The stage was set at Angelstone on Saturday night for the first of three majors this season. ‘The Champions’ featured 20 starters with the class getting underway at 9:00 o’clock, under the lights.
Visiting course designer Manuel Esparza built a course that would test the scope of the field, while emphasizing speed, an advantage to Chilean speed king, Samuel Parot with his two mounts, Atlantis and Couscous Van Orti, who was coming off a victory on Thursday night in the $49,500 System Stall Rentals Open Welcome.
The first round resulted in a total of seven clear rounds, that included a pair by Parot, as well as Christian Sorensen (Bobby), Cara Raether Carey (Lyonell), Molly Ashe Cawley (Balous Day Date), and Canadian riders Erynn Ballard (Appy Cara) and Jonathon Millar (Calvin Klein).
Each of the jump-off competitors were successful in going double clear through the jump off round and as the field dwindled down, the class began to materialize into the ‘race’ of the season, with all the riders aggressively pursuing the $84,000 payday.
Three riders were packed together at the top of the list, separated by only half a second with Parot standing at the top of the board with his horse ‘Couscous Van Orti’ with an aggressive time of 37.35. Parot kept the crowd of 1,600 on the edge of their seats as he warmed up his second mount of the night, ‘Atlantis’, a horse that has enjoyed a huge amount of success at Angelstone this season.
Entering the ring with ambitions of going one-two, Parot galloped between the fences, navigating a tight inside turn with a burn home to the final fence, clearing the leading mark with a blazing time of 35.20, besting his second place time by a full two seconds.
Parot will fill his suitcase home to Chile with $37,800 in earnings for his first and second place performances, but not before returning for the Angelstone National and International, taking place the final two weeks of August.
The next two Angelstone Majors will take place under the lights at 8:30PM on Saturday, August 22nd and 29th, where he will be going head to head against some incoming powerhouses, which will include ‘Captain Canada’ Ian Millar and the Russian Tigress, Liubov Kochetova.
The class was graciously sponsored by Engel & Volkers (Wellington FL’s) Carol Sollack, one of the United States most prominent real estate agencies, focused on the equestrian and luxury residential markets of Wellington and the Palm Beaches. For more information, visit wellington.evusa.com
View full results here.
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