26 March '24
Kent Farrington to the top of the world with Z horses
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Horse in the Picture
@sportfot
It is Dexter Fontenis Z (Diarado, breeder S.C.R.I.S.Ky horses) who takes pride of the 1st spot in the new Z-Ranking with Simon Delestre. The Frenchman is the number 8 of the world and recently finished 4th in the Rolex Top 10 Final in Geneva. At the start of the World Cup season Dexter and Delestre came 2nd in the World Cup of Oslo after they had taken victory in the GP on the day before. After one mistake in the jump-off they finished 7th in the World Cup of Lyon. With that Dexter Fontenis Z rounds up a total of € 780,000 in prize-money and that is € 200,000 more than Maikel van der Vleuten’s Beauville Z NOP (Bustique, breeder Pascal Habets), who takes the 2nd spot. With their 6th place in the Super GCT GP they recently pocketed € 50,000. Which was exclusively for winners of a GCT GP. Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z won the GCT of Cannes and back then that yielded € 165,000. With that result Beauville Z jumped to the 2nd place in the Z-Ranking. On the eve of the Global Champions Playoffs in Prague, Beauville Z was presented with the GCL Horse of the Year Award.
In 3rd place of the Z-Ranking we find Landon ex. Crack de Nyze Z (Comilfo Plus Z, breeder Danny Nijs), Kent Farrington’s horse. The American rider is also the number 3 of the world and owes that status to two Z horses. Along with Landon, Farrington also competes Toulayna van het Bloesemhof Z (Toulon) who was born in Jasper Doucé’s yard and recently won a 1.60m class in Geneva. Earlier they piled victory upon victory in the GPs of Wellington, Spruce Meadows, Williamsburg and Rockwood. That resulted in a fair amount of dollars which is why Toulayna jumps from place 8 to place 5 and why Kent Farrington stands in 3rd place on the World Ranking List.
The 6th spot for Consulent de Prelet Z (Consulent Z, breeder Fekatrans S.R.O. & Kamil Plucinsky), comes as no surprise considering his latest results with Irishman Richard Howley. The 12-year old Z gelding was catapulted up from place 20 to a 6th place. They seared through the World Cups with victories in Oslo and next in Helsinki.
Beau de Laubry Z, a Bisquet Balou vd Mispelaere daughter out of Wabelle de Muze (Nabab de Reve), stems from Michel Haelterman’s stud farm and is in the capable hands of Kevin Staut. They ranked in 33rd spot but thanks to i.e. their victory in the World Cup of Stuttgart they are now in 9th place.
A remarkable climber is the 9-year-old stallion CJoxx Z (Comme Il Faut) who was born in Joop Timmer’s yard. CJoxx Z has found his way to Irishman Shane Sweetnam and in Mexico they recently won their first 5* GP. Before that they also clocked wins in Lexington and jumped onto the podium in Ottawa.
The most surprising newcomer in the Z-Ranking is undoubtedly Cancun Torel Z. Via her sire Cosinus she is a granddaughter of Cornet Obolensky out of Grannus Lady (Grannus). Cancun Torel Z’s breeder is Francois Xavier Guyard and she was active in America. She returned to France though where her reins were taken over by Julien Epaillard, the fastest rider in the world. So it’s definitely not a coincidence that Epaillard and Cancun Torel Z have already triumphed in four international competitions since October. During the World Cup of Verona they won a 1.50m class and in the World Cup of La Coruna they pocketed 2nd prize in a 1.50m class. So in all respect things are clearly heading in the right direction for Cancun Torel Z and Julien Epaillard.
