A total of 35 horses from 14 states participated in the $20,000 TAKE2 Hunter and Jumper Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park Sunday during the Kentucky National Horse Show. In a repeat of last year's results, MVP took the TAKE2 Hunter Final and Riley captured the TAKE2 Jumper Final.
“It's so much fun to see the Thoroughbreds from all over the country competing,” MVP's owner/rider Tess Fortune said. “This is my third year doing the Finals, and I have a great time every year.”
MVP raced briefly without success under the name Kit's Captain before retiring through the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association's Galloping Out program. He was adopted by Fortune as a 3-year-old in 2014. The reserve champion in the TAKE2 Hunter Finals was 11-year-old gray Mo Bandit, who was retired through After the Races, a Thoroughbred rehabilitation and rehoming center in Maryland. The popular Cozmic One, son of Zenyatta, finished 11th in the jumper division with Hidden Brook's Sergio de Sousa in the irons.
Cyanea Robine and Riley also had one rail and earned the championship sash once again. Robine was also named this year's top TAKE2 Junior Rider, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, in the Jumper division. Riley, whose Jockey Club name is Pic Me First, had a couple of less-than-impressive workouts at Delta Downs before it was decided he was not cut out for a racing career.
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