Moloney and Slieveanorra jumped past Samuel Parot (CHI) and Couscous Van Orti, who were the only other pair to advance to the short course. The winners crossed the finish in 40.787 seconds, while Parot collected four faults and stopped th clock in 40.40 seconds. Alison Robitaille (USA) and Sensation 21 took third place, completing the fastest four fault trip around the original course, finishing in 75.54 seconds.
Moloney and Slieveanorra went late in the class order, which featured 23 entries and was set by this week's FEI course designer Manuel Esparza (MEX). While Moloney was surprised that only two combinations moved forward to contest the second round, he was pleased with the way Slieveanorra handled the track, as the 2002 Irish Sport Horse gelding (Voltaire x Flagmount Diamond) owned by Equinimity LLC, made efficient work of the difficult course.
"I thought after I walked it that there might be one or two more clears, but it proved to be pretty difficult for everyone. It was a long way around and I think that also it's the end of the week and some of the horses may have been feeling less fresh than at the beginning of the week," said Moloney.
Slieveanorra was originally sourced by Moloney's brother from Ireland early in his career and has been successfully guided to numerous top finishes in FEI classes around the world. The gelding produced a valiant effort around both tracks, which helped the duo secure the win.