Izac Ketteridge and the talented stallion Galerius put a spell of “bad luck” behind them to take the Hunter Woodshaving’s CSI2* 1.40m speed class by a convincing 2sec at the London Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT).
“Today was what we’ve been waiting for,” said 21-year-old Izac, who rides for Elisha Simmons. “I’ve let him down a couple of times recently and we just haven’t had the best of luck.”
Last year the combination took wins on both of their other LGCT appearances in Rome and Valkenswaard but finished second on their home soil in a 2* 1.30m.
“It was funny because this was our home show and we won a rug at all the others,” Izac said. “It’s quite nice to complete the collection!”
Izac has been riding the 12-year-old Diamant De Semilly x Sandro Boy stallion for just over a year and has been successful both internationally and on the county circuit, as well as jumping on the young rider nations cup team in Compiègne.
“He’s been a great horse for me, we go here, there and everywhere,” he said. “He’s had a little holiday, as he’d done quite a lot since last year, and this was his first win since he’s been back.”
The class was the opening 2* of Saturday’s schedule and was dominated by strong performances from the Brits, who seized the top six places.
Freshly-crowned national champions Adrian Speight and Millfield Baloney were the first to show them how it’s done, initially forging a 9.27sec advantage from 18th-to-go.
Another 25 riders jumped before he was overtaken by a great forward performance from Izac and Galerius, who stormed the final line to thrust 4.22sec into the lead.
In the final throes, Sally Goding managed to slot into second place with her very consistent homebred nine-year-old mare Spring Willow, but couldn’t quite challenge Izac’s time. It was the second runner-up spot of the show for the pair, who also finished second in Thursday’s Waddesdon Rothschild 1.40m.
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