Oliver Townend has chosen his two rides for next week’s Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event (22-25 April) and will line up on Cooley Master Class and Ballaghmor Class.
The double Kentucky winner also had Tregilder entered, but the two more experienced horses boarded the plane yesterday (14 April) and have now landed in the US.
Angela Hislop’s Cooley Master Class will start as number 34. The European team silver medallist is aiming for a third Kentucky title, having won the past two runnings in 2018 and 2019.
Ballaghmor Class – who belongs to Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan – makes his Kentucky debut. He has exceptional form at the British five-stars, having won Burghley Horse Trials on his debut at the level in 2017 and finished in the top five on all four of his subsequent five-star runs. He will compete as number 68.
Oliver’s pair of rides and the other British-based horses now go into quarantine for a few days and Oliver flies out to the US to join them on Monday.
Meanwhile data analytics company EquiRatings has named Ballaghmor Class as the favourite, with a 17% chance of winning the event, a 33% chance of a top-three finish and a 55% chance of a top-10 placing. Cooley Master Class is close behind his stablemate as the second favourite, with an 11% win chance (25% top three, 50% top 10).
US rider Tamie Smith is third favourite with Mai Baum, who EquiRatings give a 10% win chance, a 23% chance of a top-three finish and a 49% chance of a top-10 result. Fellow US rider Marilyn Little (RF Scandalous) is the only other starter with a double figures chance of winning – she also has a 10% win chance, but slips slightly behind Tamie on the top-three (20%) and top-10 (42%) statistics.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
