Edited press release from Royal Windsor Horse Show
A top-class field contested the day’s feature class at Royal Windsor Horse Show, the 1.55m Kingdom of Bahrain Stakes for The King's Cup. Six combinations went through to the jump-off, with world no. 5 Kent Farrington first to go to set the target. Riding the brilliant chestnut gelding Creedance (Lord Z x Notaris), Farrington posted a fantastic round, making all the moves to finish in a time of 34.72.
Ireland’s Daniel Coyle and Oak Grove's Carlyle (Casall x Corrado I) followed, also riding a superb round, but his time was no match to that set by Farrington. Several riders incurred penalties trying to catch the time required, including two of Britain’s upcoming Olympic team members Ben Maher and Harry Charles. With just Laura Kraut left to go, the title was guaranteed to go to America, however despite her best efforts, she posted a time of 37.83, finishing in third place with Confu (Contact Me x Cambridge), behind Daniel Coyle in second.
Following his win, Farrington said: “I’m thrilled with Creedance, he’s one of my favourite horses, so much blood, he’s naturally fast, he’s a real winner and he has been his whole career. It’s one of my favourite shows so I’m happy to win here today.”
Looking ahead to the Rolex Grand Prix tomorrow, Farrington continued: “It’s a world class field, tomorrow’s going to be the same, it’s always a great competition here and you’ve got the best of the best. It’s big money, with the best riders, with their best horses, it’s going to be tough competition and I think the course builder will set the course accordingly, so I think it’s going to be difficult and big and fast and not so easy to win.”