Jeffery Welles and Broken Heart went fourth in a five-horse jump-off and shaved more than a second off the leading time to win Sunday’s $75,000 AIG Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson V. “He’s 9-years-old, but he’s very green,” said Welles, of Wellington, Florida, about Herbert Sambol’s Broken Heart. “This is only his fourth Grand Prix. He’s got an enormous stride. But he’s strong, very strong.” Second-place finisher Margie Engle and Indigo went first in the jump-off and finished in a clean 44.975 seconds, which held for three rounds until Welles and Broken Heart. Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince went second, but had a rail, which put them in fifth place. Mario Deslauriers and Scout De La Cense went third, and finished fault-free in 45.291 seconds, ultimately placing fourth. Jeffery Welles and Broken Heart went fourth and finished in 43.862 seconds clean to top Engle’s time and claim first place. Judy Garofalo Torres and Quattro Queen went last, finishing in a clean 45.192, edging out Deslauriers to take third. Welles said of his round, “I was a little worried about turning back to the double, after fence two, but he did that quite well for me. And then I just sort of let him go across the middle, and I did one less stride – I did nine strides and the others did 10. And then I let him fly to the next vertical. And the last oxer, I barley fit that last stride in....but he tried his heart out to jump it clean. It was deep, and he could have easily had it down, but he really tried for me. He was great.” Engle said she, too, was happy with her horse’s performance. “I was very pleased. He’s coming off of a bit of a rest, four or five months. We went first in the jump-off, and went about as fast as I felt comfortable.” Cloe Hymowitz had two horses in the jump-off, and went first and last. Hymowitz and Fineman, owned by Rose Hill Farm, went last in the jump-off and completed the course clean in 34.261 seconds. Hymowitz also finished fourth on Baritchou DBT, also owned by Rose Hill Farm. They were first to go in the jump-off and had four faults, finishing in 38.005 seconds. Hymowitz said it helped to have two mounts in the second round, and that their placement in the Order of Go – first and last – was advantageous.
