JPR and Connollys Karuba – Best Performed in Section 3
Above: James Paterson-Robinson and Connollys Karuba.
The first final of today’s Sydney Royal Jumping program has wrapped up under glorious blue skies this morning in an exciting class that kept the large crowd enthralled. With a four-way jump-off, a very well planned ride by Tom McDermott ensured he and Cooley Gangster took the final win.
As a reward for their consistent performances over the four days of competition Connollys Karuba expertly piloted by James Paterson-Robinson (JPR) was named as the best performed Section 3 horse.
Let’s take a look back at how the Section 3 competition unfolded.
Above: Tom McDermott and Cooley Gangster
The first round of the Section 3 competition took place on Wednesday, with an Accumulator competition, a class type we don’t see too often. A total of six combinations managed to accumulate 65 points, which was the maximum number on offer, so it came down to times to sort out the placings. A time of 57.43 seconds was enough to take the class, with the win going to Australian Olympian James Paterson-Robinson and Connollys Karuba, a young mare owned by Melissa Blair. Rhys Stones and ES Ella were second with a time of 59.84 seconds, just ahead of Lucie Aldridge and Ollie Olae in 60.19 seconds.
Above: James Paterson-Robinson and Connollys Karuba
ROUND 1 RESULTS
PLACE | RIDER | HORSE |
1st | James Paterson-Robinson | Connollys Karuba |
2nd | Rhys Stones | ES Ella |
3rd | Lucia Aldridge | Ollie Olae |
4th | Jamie Winning-Kermond | Yandoo Honolulu |
5th | Maverick Miles | Verdasco |
6th | Madeline Sinderberry | Balentino |
The Section 3 horses were out again on Thursday and this time a jump-off was required to sort out the placings. Five combinations went clear in the round, however, only one of these could repeat the performance in the jump-off, with the win going to Maroota based Andrew Inglis and Laracas. From the far south coast of NSW, Lane Clark and Valentine Lodge Vanna took a single rail in the jump-off, however a fast time of 49.29 seconds secured second place for them. A time of 52.84 and a single rail saw third place go to Emma Smith and Bittern Park Karmen.
ROUND 2 RESULTS
PLACE | RIDER | HORSE |
1st | Andrew Inglis | Laracas |
2nd | Lane Clarke | Valentine Lodge Vanna |
3rd | Emma Smith | Bittern Park Karmen |
4th | Jamie Winning-Kermond | Yandoo Honolulu |
5th | Maverick Miles | Verdasco |
6th | Phillip Lever | BP Jedak Du Rouet |
Saturday morning saw Round 3 of the Section 3 competition and this time, a four-way jump-off was required to sort out the placings. In the jump-off, there were three double clears, with the win going again to James Paterson-Robinson and Connollys Karuba who scooted around the course in 52.20 seconds. About 1.5 seconds slower were Amelia Douglass and Yalambi’s J’Adore. Emma Smith and Lumi were third in 56.46 seconds
ROUND 3 RESULTS
PLACE | RIDER | HORSE |
1st | James Paterson-Robinson | Connollys Karuba |
2nd | Amelia Douglass | Yalambi’s J’adore |
3rd | Emma Smith | Lumi |
4th | Lane Clarke | Valentine Lodge Vanna |
5th | Madeline Sinderberry | Balentino |
6th | Emma Smith | Bittern Park Karmen |
All this preliminary action set up what promised to be a memorable final and that’s the way it turned out. Twenty combinations took to the Graeme Watts designed track which had been moved to in front of the Members Stand for today’s action. With the rails higher than we had seen on previous days there were a few combinations that came away with a relatively high number of penalties. We saw 4 clears come back from the jump-off with the first three out collecting a rail each – so when it was Tom’s turn he knew exactly what he had to do – he could afford some time penalties but he needed to keep all the rails in place – and of course that is what he did!
Above: Tom McDermott and Cooley Gangster.
GROUP A – SECTION 3 – FINAL
PLACE | RIDER | HORSE |
1st | Tom McDermott | Cooley Gangster |
2nd | Andrew Inglis | Laracas |
3rd | Aaron Hadlow | Bellhaven Coolibah |
4th | Phillip Lever | BP Jedak Du Rouet |
5th | James Paterson-Robinson | Connollys Karuba |
6th | Madeline Sinderberry | Balentino |
Today didn’t go quite as JPR had planned, taking a rail at the second of the double, but through his great consistency over previous rounds with wins in Round 1 and Round 3, his pointscore (90) was enough to secure them the title of Best Performed Horse in Section 3 for 2022. Maverick Miles and Verdasco were the closest on his tail with a score of 75. The top ten performers in this class will be invited back for the Mini Prix tomorrow.