The $85,000 Enbridge Cup 1.50m competition was held first in the International Ring on Sunday with a win for Conor Swail (IRL) and Susan and Ariel Grange's 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare, Martha Louise (Maloubet de Pleville x Wolfgang). Thirty-four entries jumped the first round course set by Leopoldo Palacios (VEN) with 10 returning for the jump-off. Six went clear over the short course, where Swail and Martha Louise were last to go in 40.04 seconds for the win. Daniel Bluman (COL) finished second in 41.88 seconds with Ricardo and Alberto Simhon's Apardi. Sameh el Dahan (EGY) took third place honors in 41.93 seconds aboard Sumas Zorro, owned by Dahan and Joanne Sloan-Allen. "I think I was in a nice position there, last to go," Swail said after his win. "I know at this stage, Martha with her form, that she is normally not far away. She is quick enough to win if I can ride her correctly and give her a good chance to jump the jumps, and thankfully today, that is how it worked out for me." "She loves it here, that's for sure," Swail stated. "She wins a lot everywhere, but especially here. She just keeps getting better and better. This is her second year, but it's two wins, and I don't know how many placings already. She is such a good girl." Martha Louise is just 10 years old, but shows the skill and maturity of a much more experienced horse. Swail knows that he can always count on her and even stepped her up a bit this week while his top horse was not showing. "I did her in a few bigger classes the start of the week because Lansdowne hasn't been out. He is just going to be coming back after this tournament, and she was going to have to maybe jump next week," Swail explained. "I was sacrificing maybe winning or being competitive in the 1.50m classes, but I thought, 'Ok, we'll try to make a plan for next week and teach her how to jump a few of those bigger jumps and see how we get on next week with her as well.' I'm glad it worked out nicely that we gave her the two big classes and this was the one that I was trying to win, and it worked out like that. I like when a plan comes together." "I have a lot of confidence in her," Swail added. "When you are going in with her, unless you make a mistake, she won't normally. That is our job to ride our horses correctly, and if we have quality as good as her, then that is nice that when you do all the right things. She always does." "She is unreal. You see her walking around in the parade, and you would think she was just out for a stroll there," Swail said of Martha's cool demeanor. "Funny enough, she does get quite nervous. She is a little funny in that if she hits a jump, it makes her really nervous and the reaction is kind of to get quicker. For me today, I thought she was fabulous in the first round. She was high and loose. This is her third class (this week), and she always relaxes into it a little bit and obviously that's a good thing. The more jumping, the better for her a little bit." Commenting on the competition, Swail noted, "The first round was tough. It was a big track and quite long. There was a good few questions. There weren't so many clean. The jump-off also was tricky. I think I got a little lucky for sure going into the double (combination). She gave that a good rub. It's nice to be able to get a little rub and get away with it and have a good day. It was good and fast. To win at Spruce Meadows, you have to be going very, very fast, and I am lucky that she is very capable of doing that." Martha Louise will step up to show in next week's grand prix, and Swail looks forward to giving her some good experience and seeing what she can do. "It will be pretty cool. It's experience, but knowing Martha, she won't be too far away," he smiled. Spruce Meadows' Summer Series concludes next week with the 'Pan American' Tournament CSI 5* running July 10-13. The week features the $400,000 Pan American Cup presented by Rolex on Sunday, July 13. For more information and full results, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com. Final Results: $85,000 Enbridge Cup 1.50m 1 MARTHA LOUISE: Swedish Warmblood / M / 10 Maloubet de Pleville x Wolfgang CONOR SWAIL (IRL), Susan & Ariel Grange: 0/0/40.04 2 APARDI: Dutch Warmblood / S / 9 Corland x Kannan DANIEL BLUMAN (COL), Ricardo & Alberto Simhon: 0/0/41.88 3 SUMAS ZORRO: Irish Sport Horse / M / 10 Ard Vdl Douglas x Unknown SAMEH EL DAHAN (EGY), Joanne Sloan-Allen & Sameh El Dahan: 0/0/41.93 4 WANNICK WH: Dutch Warmblood / S / 11 Heartbreaker x Joost CHRISTINE MCCREA (USA), Candy Tribble: 0/0/45.47 5 STAR POWER: Dutch Warmblood / G / 13 Quick Star x Calvados IAN MILLAR (CAN), Team Works: 0/0/45.97 6 SOUTHWIND VDL: Dutch Warmblood / G / 15 Baloubet de Rouet x Ahorn TIFFANY FOSTER (CAN), Tiffany Foster & Artisan Farms LLC: 0/0/46.54 7 QUIGLEY: Oldenburg / G / 11 Quidams Rubin x Argentinus KYLE KING (USA), Paul Politeski: 0/4/41.63 8 AMBLER GAMBLER: Dutch Warmblood / S / 9 Colander x Numero Uno KENT FARRINGTON (USA), Haity McNerney LLC & Amalya Investments: 0/4/42.95 9 CALVIN KLEIN: Swedish Warmblood / G / 10 Cardento x Feliciano JONATHON MILLAR (CAN), Millar Brooke Farm: 0/4/45.36 10 PROF DE LA ROQUE: Selle Francais / G / 11 Kannan x Damiro DARRAGH KENNY (IRL), Postage Stamp Farm LLC: 0/8/42.27
