The 5-, 6- and 7-year-old horses lined up for their finals today at Spring MET II, as the second part of the 2017-edition of the Tour has entered its last week of competition. The Irish riders were on fire, dominating the finals for the 5- and 6-year-old horses while in the 7-year-old final it was a young Belgian combination that took the top honours.
 
It was Constant Van Paesschen’s stable jockey Cyril Cools (BEL) that reigned supreme in the final for the 7-year-old horses – set at 1.40m –  finishing first on the Belgian-bred gelding Kid Pleasure d'Asschaut (For Pleasure x Nonstop) after a double clear round and a time of 36.32 seconds in the jump-off. The 22-year-old Belgian rider joined Van Paesschen’s team in January, and has had a good start in his new job with several top results at the Spring MET.
 
Fifteen of the 66 horse-and-rider combinations in the final managed to produce double clear rounds. Win-machine Harold Boisset (FRA) was again in the money, this time finishing second on the Belgian-bred mare Kitty S (Diarado x Carnute) 0.30 behind Cools against the clock. Edouard Mathe (FRA) took care of the third place aboard the French-bred mare Anabelle de Caudard (For Pleasure x Nonstop). 

In the final for the 6-year-olds it was all about Ireland, as Irish riders claimed the top four spots. Neal Fearon and the Irish-bred gelding Tuilleadh Uisce Beatha (Ustinov x Clover Echo) were the fastest in the jump-off with their time of 29.50, and were followed by Shane O'Reilly on the French-bred gelding Belga du Thot (Mozart des Hayettes x Rosire) that stopped the timers on 31.33 seconds. David Simpson finished third on the Hannoveraner-gelding Diarados Black Diamond (Diarado x Glorial), while fourth place went to Trevor Breen on the KWPN-gelding Get Off (Numero Uno x Indoctro) in this 1.30 competition counting 71 horses.

The victory in the final for the 5-year-olds also went to Ireland, with Philip Carey on the Oldenburger-gelding Ashgrove Lexington taking the top honours against 22 other competitors in this 1.15m class. Again, Harold Boisset took care of the runner-up position riding the Belgian-bred Mowgli Bellissimo (Corland x Quidam de Revel) with 0.17 separating him from the winning time. The Irish riders were again to be found in third and fourth, thanks to Kenneth Graham on the KWPN-gelding Hyves-Onde W (Quasimodo Z x Capitol II) and Ivan Dalton on Condor Hypopromo (Mylord Carthago x Verdi).
 
The last week of competition at Spring MET II runs through to Sunday, when the second part of the Tour concludes with a CSI3* Grand Prix.