Egypt’s Nayel Nassar rode Lucifer V, owned by Evergate Stables LLC, to the win in the $134,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup Round 12 CSI 5* on Thursday, March 28, during the final week of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, FL. On Thursday, 60 entries contested the WEF Challenge Cup course set by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil, and of those starters, 28 qualified for the jump-off round, with 18 ultimately electing to return to face off over the short course. Fresh off a second-place finish with Lordan and a victory with Lucifer V in the two HITS $1 Million Grand Prix events held within the past two weeks, Nassar was the second to return for the jump-off and set the time to beat at an untouchable 35.90 seconds. Coming the closest to catching Nassar’s time was U.S. Olympic team silver medalist Kent Farrington riding Creedance, owned by Kent Farrington & R.C.G Farm, who finished in second on 36.70 seconds. Rounding out the top three was 22-year-old Spencer Smith (USA) riding Theodore Manciais to a finish time of 36.83 seconds for owner Torrey Pines & Ashland Farm. “It’s surreal really,” said Nassar, 28, of his recent successes and lucrative results. “Something’s clicked in [Lucifer]’s head in the last couple months. He’s an extremely, extremely gifted horse, and I’m really grateful to have him. He just adds a little bit of depth to my string so I can keep Lordan a little fresh and have a good result out west and then come here and try to clean up a little bit with Lucifer!” In the past week, that is exactly what Nassar and Lucifer V have done thanks to their top performances in rounds including Thursday’s jump-off. “I was surprised to see so many clears; I thought the first course walked difficult enough, but I think everyone’s in good form,” said Nassar. “It’s the last week of the circuit. It’s a big five-star week, and there are a lot of good horses here. Lucky for me, I went early in the jump-off, so I didn’t have much to think about except to try to go fast and leave them up. He’s just naturally such a quick horse; I knew if I could just be neat everywhere and stay on top of my turns, that he would be tough to catch, and he was today.” Final Results: $134,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup Round 12 CSI 5* 1 LUCIFER V: 2006 Westphalian gelding by Lord Dezi x Grandeur NAYEL NASSAR (EGY), Evergate Stables LLC: 0/0/35.90 2 CREEDANCE: 2007 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Lord Z x Notaris KENT FARRINGTON (USA), Kent Farrington & R.C.G Farm: 0/0/36.70 3 THEODORE MANCIAIS: 2007 Selle Français gelding by Kashmir van Schuttershof SPENCER SMITH (USA), Torrey Pines & Ashland Farm: 0/0/36.83 4 HERMELIEN VD HOOGHOEVE: 2007 Belgian Warmblood mare by Tangelo VD Zuthoeve x Thunder VD Zuthoeve ALI RAMSAY (CAN), Ali Ramsay: 0/0/38.70 5 COUNT ME IN: 2007 Hanoverian gelding by Count Grannus x Sherlock Holmes BETH UNDERHILL (CAN), Sandy Lupton: 0/0/39.77 6 CAS 2: 2007 KWPN gelding by Indoctro x Numero Uno HARRIE SMOLDERS (NED) Copernicus Stables LLC: 0/0/40.79 7 KEOKI: 2009 Holsteiner gelding by Catoki x Cassini I DAVID BLAKE (IRL), Pine Hollow Farm: 0/0/41.74 8 COOL HAND LUKE 4: 2007 Oldenburg gelding by Contendro I x Argentinus MARKUS BEERBAUM (GER), Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC: 0/0/44.98 9 NOCHE DE RONDA: 2009 Oldenburg mare by Quintender x Loves Corinth MCLAIN WARD (USA), Maarten Huygens and McLain Ward: 0/4/38.15 10 CHACCIAMA: 2007 Oldenburg mare by Chacco Blue x Andiamo Z RODRIGO LAMBRE (BRA), Rodrigo Lambre: 0/4/38.77 11 INDRA VAN DE OUDE HEIHOEF: 2008 Belgian Warmblood mare by Casantos x Action-Breaker SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), The Blue Buckle Group: 0/4/40.27 12 CONFU: 2007 Holsteiner gelding by Contact Me x Cambridge LAURA KRAUT (USA), St. Bride’s Farm: 0/4/42.75
