Above: Billy Raymont and Caprino. Photo credit Jasmine Dunmore Photography.

The fourth leg of the 2024 Australian FEI World Cup season was held yesterday at Caboolture and in a repeat of their double clear win at Larapinta in the third leg, Billy Raymont and Caprino were again victorious. They were one of just three combinations who left all the rails in place over the two rounds of competition beating home the second placed Phillip Lever and Billionaire NZPH by just over a second. With the only other double clear performance, third place went to Sam Whale and Fleur DeLacour.

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A total of 17 entries were on the start list for the class, held under clear skies over a course designed by Gavin Chester. For the first time this season, all combinations got around the course and there were no eliminations in the first round. The top 12 performers were invited back for a second round and with penalties incurred in the first round carried forward, the four first round clears held a significant advantage over the rest of the competitors.

The first of these out in the second round were Billy Raymont and Caprino, as they were the slowest of the four clears, having finished in 81.28 seconds, just under the time allowed of 82 seconds. What came next was a masterclass. Billy rode the gelding to perfection, again going clear and most importantly setting a cracking time of just 50.82 seconds to really give the others something to catch.

Above: Billy Raymont and Caprino. Photo credit Jasmine Dunmore Photography.

The first of the remaining three combinations to try were James Mooney and his grey mare KPH Cavatina. They, however, took a rail and ended up with a total of four penalties and had to settle for a fifth placing, the same place they recorded at the Larapinta leg, back in April.

Next were the Victorian pair of Phillip Lever and Billionaire NZPH. They scooted around the course to put in the second double clear of the day, however, at time of 51.88 seconds saw they slot into second place, just over a second shy of the lead. It was a good performance from this consisted combination, who had already this season recorded fifth and third placings in the first two legs of the season.

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The last combination on course were the New Zealand pair of Sam Whale and her mare Fleur DeLacour. Competing in their fourth World Cup Qualifier of the year, this was the first time that we saw them competing in the second round and with a real shot of taking the prize. They had been the fastest of the 17 combinations in Round 1 and they set about their work trying to knock Billy and Caprino off the top of the leaderboard. It was a very solid round, producing a third double clear performance, however, when the clock was stopped, their time of 54.92 seconds was just a little off the pace, securing third place.

Billy and Caprino are having a mixed season, however, they are well and truly headed in the right direction. In the first leg at Shepparton, they were ninth and this was followed up with a distant 21st place at Werribee. However, since then, they have been unbeatable, recording a perfect pair of wins. At the presentation, Billy said that Caprino was in top form, having gone the last couple of months without taking a rail. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for this very promising combination.

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The full listing of the top 12 placegetter in the World Cup Qualifier are listed below.

CLASS 22: PEACHESTER LODGE FEI WORLD CUP QUALIFIER CSI1*-W

Results sourced from online-equipe.