2/ AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2022 THE RIDER


Hyde Moffatt Continued from Page 1


cle one year later with the same horse, Donjo. Proving his domination of the event, Moffatt also took second place with Grafton. Both horses are owned by Ariel Grange of Cheltenham, ON. The grass field at Wes-


ley Clover Parks was in prime condition to host top show jumping competition with a colourful and beauti- fully decorated course de- signed by Marina Azevedo of Brazil. While it may have looked inviting, rails fell throughout the course as rider after rider attempted to jump a clear round. Moffatt


think it was a bit stronger in terms of the build that we’ve seen in the province re- cently. A little bit of a step up for the horses, but I thought it was very fair and a nice way to introduce a few bigger jumps and it rode well. They were good ques- tions, and they were very fair questions. “I thought we might


see a couple more clean,” continued Moffatt. “It’s very modern material, very light material, that doesn’t toler- ate mistakes. The footing is great, the weather is perfect, and we couldn’t have had a better day.” As for his winning


mount, Moffatt noted, “He has not shown since the end


on a natural surface; it’s one of the few opportunities that we have to jump on the grass these days,” said Mof- fatt of competing at Wesley Clover Parks. “I like this style of show. We have lovely jumps, and every- thing about the place itself is very accommodating. Plus you’re in Ottawa! It has wonderful atmosphere, and fantastic restaurants. I’ve been running down to the Parliament buildings every couple days on the trail sys- tem, it’s about 40km. You run past Bluesfest. It’s amazing. They are playing and you’re running on the trail beside it. It’s really cool!”


Not content to confine


hungry for a Grand Prix vic- tory. It was not meant to be, however, as a rail down with Chanel du Calvaire, his 14- year-old Belgian Sport Horse mare (Luccianno x Kashmir van Schuttershof), would leave the pair third in the final standings with a time of 83.06 seconds. Lauren Esdale of Sea-


grave, ON, also had a rail with her mount, Viamdios d’Avril, and crossed through the timers in 83.42 seconds to finish fourth while David Arcand of Boisbriand, QC, rounded out the top five with four faults in a time of 83.83 seconds riding Dollar del Colle.


$50,000 RBC Grand Prix Saturday, July 16, 2022


Rider / Hometown / Horse /


Hyde Moffatt produced the fastest four-fault effort to finish second with Grafton in the $50,000 RBC Grand Prix at Wesley Clover Parks. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


and Donjo had gone second in the order, proving a clear round was possible. How- ever, no one else was able to leave all the rails in place, giving Moffatt the win with- out a jump-off. When the four-fault


rounds were


placed based on time, Mof- fatt found himself runner-up as well after producing a four-fault round in a time of 81.95 seconds


aboard


Grafton. “I was surprised that I


was the only one to jump clear,” said Moffatt, 43, who brought seven horses to compete at this year’s Ot- tawa Summer Tournaments. “It was a very fair test. I do


of February, he’s had some vacation time and is just ramping back up. He was a fraction on the rusty side earlier in the week and has come into his own as the week went on.” Moffatt began riding


Donjo, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood


gelding


(Zirocco Blue VDL x Ahorn), at the beginning of the 2021 season. He’s been partnered with Grafton, a 16-year-old Selle Francais stallion (Calvaro x Von- deen) since 2018, when the pair’s first FEI-sanctioned event together was at Wes- ley Clover Parks. “I like that we’re still


his athletic abilities to the show ring, Moffatt is plan- ning to compete in a half- Iron Man in December although he notes, “I don’t do it to be competitive, I do it to challenge myself.” Of his win in the


$50,000 RBC Grand Prix, Moffatt concluded, “Thank you to my owners for the opportunity to be here, and to RBC and Wesley Clover Parks. They’ve done an amazing job yet again!” Having won the Open


Welcome both weeks of the Ottawa Equestrian Tourna- ments, François Lamon- tagne,


38, of Saint-Eustache, QC, was


Faults / Time 1. Hyde Moffatt / Brantford, ON / Donjo / 0 2. Hyde Moffatt / Brantford, ON / Grafton / 4 3. François Lamontagne / Saint-Eustache, QC / Chanel du Calvaire / 4 4. Lauren Esdale / Seagrave, ON / Viamdios d’Avril / 4 5. David Arcand / Bois- briand, QC / Dollar del Colle / 4 6. Stephanie Gallucci / Toronto, ON / Broken Heart / 6 7. Marie Messier / Laval, QC / Chacco Mio Al Khair Z / 8 8. Julia Wiggins / Kanata, ON / Lynnford AS / 11 9. Stephanie Gallucci / Toronto, ON / Calle 67 / 12 10. Jay Hayes / Mono, ON / Elton John / 12


Ajax Downs Continued from Page 1


Be Relentless surged to the lead and staved off a chal- lenge from SW Artemisia to


large, long-striding, half brother to Ajax Downs Horse of the Year Had to Be Ivory, came into the unique race on Sunday with a record of three wins in 17 races but the longer distance was key to the son of He’s Relentless - Had to Be Fan- dango’s success. “He’s been asking for more distance every race,” said Scott. “You never really know what they are going to do in a new race like this. On the backside he was a little timid, so I let him go back to sleep and wait for our time to run.” Into the stretch, Had to


of the crowd as the horses came around the turn, into the stretch,” said Pearson. “It was like when the (Toronto) Blue Jays hit a home run.” Had to Be Relentless, a


had been a long time com- ing in Ajax Downs history and according to Ralph Pearson, a founder of Quar- ter Horse racing in Ontario some 54 years ago, it was worth the wait. “Listening to the roar


four-wide off the turn on his way to victory to the roar of a huge crowd. It was the first-ever pari-mutuel race around a turn at Ajax Downs and was a successful end to the popular Craft Brewery Day at Ajax Downs. The first ‘hook race’


François Lamontagne of Saint-Eustache, QC, aboard Chanel du Calvaire was third in the $50,000 RBC Grand Prix. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


Prix. Presenting from left to right: Karen Sparks, Executive Director of Wesley Clover Parks; Justin Schurman, Regional Vice President, Business Financial Services, for RBC; and Glenn Sheen, Regional Director, Marketing and Citizenship, RBC. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


Hyde Moffatt aboard Donjo is presented as the winner of the $50,000 RBC Grand


Jockey Josh Scott gives Ontario-bred Had to Be Relentless some love. Laurie Overton Photo


win by half a length at 9 to 5 odds. he paid $5.80 to win.


stretch,” said Scott. “I think outer space heard the crowd in the stretch.” *Earlier on the big


Ajax Downs card, SUGAR- MANS DELIGHT, a 9-


“It was loud in the


year-old Ontario-bred and sired gelding owned and bred by Christine Tavares, won the $38,580 Ontario Sires Stakes Maturity with a strong, late burst under jockey Ed Walton. Sugar- mans Delight, trained by Joe Tavares, was winning his first stakes race in his 58th


www.ajaxdowns.com.


social media @AjaxDowns and keep up to date on events


career outing which now in- cludes 13 wins and earnings of over $218,000. Follow Ajax Downs on


at


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