WELLINGTON, Fla.--McLain Ward on Catoki, owned by Marilla van Beuren, Bob Russell, and Ward,won the $37,000, 1.45m CSI5* on Wednesday, March 10, in the International Arena at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
McLain Ward on Catoki (Photo by Sportfot)Wednesday afternoon’s class had 56 compete over the 1.45m two-phase format designed by Alan Wade of Ireland, with 32 going double clear, but as the 18th to go in the starting order, Ward was the fastest to win in 25.51 seconds.
“Alan Wade is my favorite course designer in the world, so it’s always good to see him again,” said Ward. “The power and speed always sets up nicely for Catoki because he’s so quick. He’s got such good ground speed, which doesn’t allow for the bigger-strided horses to catch us over a longer course so it was a good track for us.”
As the 12-week winter circuit moves into its final weeks, Ward is looking to close the home stretch with some big wins.
WHEN ASKED how he’s feeling at this point, the veteran was quite candid.
“Exhausted,” he said. “No, we’d like to have a good finish. I’m planning right now on taking Contagious to the World Cup Finals in Sweden, which sounds like it’s going to happen and is pretty impressive considering all the things that are happening in the world. I have HH Azur and Kasper Van Het Hellehof to balance out the last few grand prix classes here at WEF, and for the most part we’ve had a nice consistent circuit. We haven’t won any of the big grands prix but we’ve been in the ribbons almost every week in the WEF Challenge Cup and the big classes. In general, I’m happy with the horses, but we could use a big win.”
Ward has mentioned in previous weeks that the level of competition at this year’s WEF is some of the strongest there has ever been.
“It’s huge,” said Ward. “We’ve had great sport here; the level has been very high and challenging. I hope that that pays well at the World Cup Finals.”
Joining Ward in the winner’s circle for Wednesday afternoon’s presentation were the owners Marilla van Beuren and Bob Russell, who are familiar faces on the showgrounds.
“Marilla and Bob have Noche De Ronda and now Catoki, who we purchased about a year and a half ago,” he said. “They’ve been great supporters and fans of the sport. They love it, and they’re always up here to root us on. To have a horse like Catoki win so many competitions is a lot of enjoyment.”
Earlier in the day, Ireland’s Max Wachman opened the week with a win in the $6,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty 1.40m CSI2* on Ikaros, clean in a time of 26.63 seconds.
Following that, Schuyler Riley on Quilimbo won the $1,000 1.45m. Riley, double-clear over the two-phase track, stopping the clock at 29.98 seconds.
