'Special win' for Darragh Kenny as VDL Cartello nears retirement

Offaly Olympian Darragh Kenny rode to a hard-fought victory in Sunday's GNP Seguros five-star Grand Prix at Monterrey in Mexico. Kenny guided the 17-year-old stallion VDL Cartello (Cartani 4 x Lord) to a blistering time of 36.27.

The victory was a meaningful one for Kenny, but also an emotional moment for VDL Cartello’s connections “He made so many of my dreams come true at high levels, so to win a five-star Grand Prix on him towards the end of his career is very cool,” said the World No. 22 rider, who plans to retire VDL Cartello in a few weeks at CHI Geneva. “He’s been an incredible horse for me, and honestly, it’s been nothing but fun.” While VDL Cartello’s list of accomplishments is lengthy, a five-star Grand Prix win has eluded the stallion until now.

“Somehow we’ve always missed out on a five-star Grand Prix win, so I thought I’d risk everything [today] to see what could happen and I honestly have never gone this fast with him,” said Kenny of the horse that carried him to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Chasing Kenny in the six-horse jump-off, Emanuele Camilli (ITA) finished fractions off the pace in 36.27 seconds for the runner-up honor riding Odense Odeveld, Third place went to Sameh El Dahan (GBR) riding WKD Aimez Moi, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare sired by Je t’Aime Flamenco and owned by El Dahan together with Joanne Sloan-Allen. Less than a second separated the top four with lead-off rider Christian Ahlmann (GER) finishing fourth on Dourkhan Hero Z in 36.89 seconds. “I’ve always wanted to win this Grand Prix, and to be able to do it with this horse in this moment is pretty special,” concluded Kenny.