Freddie Vazquez (PUR) has been working hard for a win all summer, and the pieces finally fell into place on Friday in the $37,000 Staller CSI3* Welcome Stake. Aboard Kirschwasser SCF, Vazquez bested the to claim his first victory of the season.
Over Michel Vaillancourt’s (CAN) first-round track, rails came down across the expanse of the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring, but Vazquez showed his mastery producing only the second clear effort. Anna Beth Athey (USA) was the first to jump clear, followed by Eliza Lehrman (USA) who opted to not jump off with Eluna CL Z, and then Samuel Parot (CHI) with Chrystal Blue.
With a refusal from Athey, Vazquez knew he had to give it all he had with Parot, who was second and third in Thursday’s CSI3* Speed, behind him. The 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding (Amaretto D’Arco x Nabab De Reve) barely touched the front rail at the final fence, pulling it down and leaving the door open for a clear effort to take the win. Parot ultimately had two rails down in his jump-off, taking second place and awarding the win to Vazquez.
Vazquez and Kirschwasser SCF are well into their third year together, and they've had several podium finishes at Flintfields Horse Park. Vazquez has gotten to know the horse, bred on American soil at Spy Coast Farm in Lexington, KY, up to the CSI5* level, competing in the American Gold Cup in 2021.
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