Only four managed to master the 16-jump course designed by Manuel Esparza, which opened with a ramped Triple Bar and ended with an airy vertical facing the scoreboard. The sprawling track demanded inside turns done at a swift pace, with precise adjustments in two combinations.
The eight-fence jump-off began with the black and yellow Pyranha vertical, and ended over an oxer dressed in the colors of Horseware Ireland. David Raposa on S & L Sage, owned by S & L Farms, were first to go in the jump-off; they produced a smooth, clear round over the shortened course in a time of 44.411. Casady had not seen Raposa on course, but had his own plan for victory. Casady galloped up to jump one, and upon landing, compressed Valinski S like a cutting horse, and his snug turns bested Raposa’s time by three seconds, taking over the lead, fault-free in 41.376. The two entries to follow, Lauren Fischer & My Pleasure, and Kevin Mealiff & Audi’s Dimple, each pulled rails to finish third and fourth, respectively.
After the class, Casady couldn’t say enough kind words about Valinski S: from his character, to his heart, and to his will to win. Valinski S, owned by Wyndmont, Inc., is a new mount for Casady, who teamed up with the brown Dutch Warmblood gelding (Nikinski x Rockina) just last week in Saugerties. Casady credits his quick success with Valinski S to the close-knit team Ronnie Beard and Michael Dorman have established at Wyndmont.
Casady said, “everybody [at Wyndmont] knows their horse inside and out, so just walking into it I had everybody giving me all the details, and all the little things, and it really helped a lot.”
Last week, at HITS-on-the-Hudson I, Casady and Valinski S earned fifth place in their first outing, the $25,000 Smart Pak Grand Prix, and seventh place in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix on Sunday. Last year, in preparation for the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, Valinski S soared to victory of the $100,000 Sullivan GMC Truck Grand Prix at HITS Ocala.