Richard Spooner Overcomes Rough Start on a Rough Course to Win $75,000 Surpass Grand Prix at Indio

Indio, CA – March 5, 2006 – In Indio’s conceivably most busy week, this Sunday’s big-money class saw the largest number of entries this year for a Sunday Grand Prix, and one of the biggest and most demanding courses. After working out a few bugs early in the class, Richard Spooner reigned victorious once again aboard Quirino 3 as the $75,000 Surpass Grand Prix champion.

It proved to be an extraordinary endeavor to advance from the first round into the jump-off on the lengthy and taxing course built by Leopoldo Palacios of Caracas, Venezuela. The fences stood tall and wide, leaving no opportunities for horseplay. Three sharp rollbacks and a delicate triple combination, in particular, required a critical precision and perfect scope that most of the horse and rider combinations in the day’s class just couldn’t muster.

Of 40 entries, 4 survived the rigorous tests including John Pearce, Helen McNaught, Jennifer Crooks, and Spooner himself. Spooner’s preliminary trips of the first round startled spectators with some unusual incidents aboard some of his best Grand Prix horses.

Ezrah began a quick and smooth round, second in the order of go, with Spooner confidently aboard. But something seemed abnormal about the pair’s normally natural style. “I lost my stirrups about two-thirds of the way through the course,” said Spooner. “And when that happens, a sensitive horse like Ezrah gets nervous.” And the pair’s composure increasingly unraveled until they hit fence 12, literally.

The class’s rough start continued with subsequent competitors tallying an uncommon amount of faults. It wasn’t until Urioso and Pearce took their run that a faultless round was achieved. Still, no immediately following entries could duplicate Pearce’s performance. Even Spooner and Airtime, who surprisingly refused fence 8, couldn’t put a clear round on the board.

But lest the audience lose faith, as Spooner made his round aboard Quirino 3, he redeemed himself and once again proved why he remains one of the most successful riders on the Grand Prix circuit. The pair rode harmoniously, remaining patient, precise and on pace to leave all fences in tact and advance to the jump-off. McNaught next solved the course aboard Shakira, as did Crooks with SF Cassandra for her ride.

But for this class, the faultless rounds would be no more. Pearce and Urioso returned for the first trip of the jump-off but clipped fences 8, 10b, and 13 to leave the front, back and side doors open for Spooner and Quirino 3 to take top rank. But fence 10b struck again and the pair posted 4 faults in 38.56 seconds.

“A good time for Spooner and Quirino 3 but unfortunately they’ll add four faults. But you never know what could happen on a course like this,” rang the announcer.

Four more faults followed as Shakira and McNaught also put the top rail of 10b in the dirt. Having finished one second slower that Spooner, McNaught would be seated in 2nd place and leave it left it up to Crooks and SF Cassandra to take the lead once and for all.

But just as Palacios’ course had done all day, its tests prevailed. Two rails fell under SF Cassandra’s hoofs, and with no flawless trips in the jump-off, Spooner retained victory with 4 faults and his signature speed. “Its not a terrible way to win, but it’s a surprising way to win,” Spooner said. “But Leopoldo is a genius. For me, he’s the best course designer in the world.”

And it came to be a surprising victory in more ways than one; given the unusual incident discovered at the in-gate before entering the jump-off. “Just as I was going in the ring, we noticed [Quirino’s] front left shoe had come off half way,” said Spooner. But without time in his favor, the shoe could not be replaced. “So we made the decision to go with it, which turned out to be a mistake,” Spooner continued. As Quirino landed after the first jump, the shoe was lost completely. Nonetheless, the 12-year-old Gelding performed partially barefoot and took his victory gallop the same way.

And with week 5 of the Indio Desert Circuit under wraps, the question now stands: Who will rise to the top for HITS’s final and richest class, the $150,000 Grand Prix of the Desert? “Well, we’ll get a little time off early in the week, then do a confident class early, and try to be ready for the 150 on Sunday. And hopefully we’ll have luck on our side,” said Spooner.

Results: HITS Indio Desert Circuit, $75,000 Surpass Grand Prix, 3/5/06

• 1 – Quirino 3- Oscany Inc- Richard Spooner – 0/4-38.56
• 2 – Shakira- Gord Munro- Helen McNaught – 0/4-39.86
• 3 – SF Casandra- Stella Farm- Jennifer Crooks – 0/8-44.80
• 4 – Urioso- Forest View Farm- John Pearce – 0/12-40.10
• 5 – Summer- Wild Turkey Farm- Many Porter – 4-88.06
• 6 – Quelle Damme Van De Heffinck- Rory Hovell- Rory Hovell – 4-88.28
• 7 – Oberon 48- Bay Rose LLC/Guy Thomas- Guy Thomas – 4-88.31
• 8 – Archie Bunker- Forest View Farm- John Pearce – 4-89.07
• 9 – ABC Fantasy- Banner Farm- Laura Faulkner – 4-90.47
• 10 – Calibur- Cimmaron Farms- Kelley Small – 5-91.14
• 11 – Live Fire- C&S Partnership- Richard Spooner – 8-84.25
• 12 – Tedechine Sept- David M Robinson- Eddie Macken – 8-85.64

PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Spooner aboard Quirino 3 at the $75,000 Surpass Grand Prix. Photo by Joshua Walker.