Tracey Bienemann's Zara relaxing after rocking around her first CIC3* course. Photo from Tracey's Facebook page.
Kurt Martin and Anna Bella held onto their overnight lead with a double clear cross country run today to secure the win at Fair Hill. Anna Bella just moved up to Advanced this year, and this is the mare’s second three-star, so the win this weekend is very impressive and a huge confidence boost for this pair.
I talked with Kate briefly and she said that the course rode tough and that the time was difficult to make, as the last few parts of the course were long uphill runs which demanded a lot of the horses. A few problems came up on course, and five pairs were eliminated on cross country.
Phillip Dutton’s catch ride on Shamwari 4 earned him a second place finish only the second double clear in the division. I’m sure Boyd will be absolutely thrilled with the quick partnership Phillip has formed with Shammie, and the horse should be in top form to head to Jersey and Luhmuhlen later on this spring.
Kendal Lehari and her OTTB Totally Frank picked up third place after accumulating just .4 time penalties. This is the first CIC3* the horse has completed after retiring at Poplar Place, so Kendal will certainly be pleased with this weekend’s result on a tough course.
The CIC2* and CIC* divisions run cross-country next, so stay tuned for more from Fair Hill.
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