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Jimmy Torano and Magic Cruise flew to victory on Friday, August 1, in the $10,000 Escada/Theory Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, at the Vermont Summer Festival.
Photo by David Mullinix Photography |
August 1, 2008 – East Dorset, Vermont –
Jimmy Torano could not have been happier with his
winning performance in the $10,000 Escada/Theory Open Welcome Stake,
Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on Friday, August 1, at the
Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT.
Magic Cruise, an 8-year-old Belgian-bred mare owned by SCNC Investments Inc., has been knocking on the door of the “big” classes for some time now. According to Torano, Friday’s win marked a highlight for this special mare.
“She is a very straight forward horse. I can really count on her to be consistent,” said Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. “She’s been doing well in a lot of the bigger classes here in Vermont but this is her biggest win.”
With Magic Cruise, Torano finished second in the $10,000 Polo Ralph Lauren/Lilly Pulitzer Open Welcome Stake as well as the $30,000 Vermont Summer Festival Grand Prix during week one of the Vermont Summer Festival.
The course, designed by Jamie Alder, was challenging but fair. A total of 11 horse and rider combinations advanced to jump-off. Of the three that posted double-clear efforts, three belonged to Torano.
His first double clear was aboard Caldam D’Or in a time of 38.37 seconds. Mary Lisa Leffler and Gerona 92 raised the bar with a faultless jump-off time of 36.22 seconds to eventually finish in second place.
When Magic Cruise left the course intact in 34.49 seconds, nobody could catch her. That included Torano himself aboard Tampa, a young horse with whom he posted a double clear effort in 36.47 seconds to finish in third place.
“She really deserved to win this class today,” Torano said of Magic Cruise. “She was careful, brave, and fast. She’s everything you want in a horse and she showed that today. It’s really nice when she can win on top of that.”
Torano, 43, also noted that experience played a big part in his success today. “And it also helps when you have a horse you can really trust,” he added.
He was also proud of Tampa’s performance. “This is a horse that has had very little experience but is definitely going to be a horse for the future,” Torano said of the eight-year-old Dutch gelding. “I had to beg his owner to buy him, but he’s really showing that he’s going to be something special.”
On top of winning his share of the $10,000 purse and a $1,000 gift card to Theory, Torano also collected a slew of points to go toward the $10,000 Sir Ruly Inc. Open Jumper High Score Awards. This special award is presented to the rider who gathers the most points in designated jumper classes at the conclusion of week six at Vermont Summer Festival.
Competition at the Vermont Summer Festival is held daily Wednesday through Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m. and running until approximately 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children Wednesday through Saturday. On ‘Grand Prix Sunday’, admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children. All gate proceeds are donated to the Friends Foundation for MEMS, benefiting programs in the local Elementary & Middle School.
New England’s largest “AA” rated hunter/jumper horse show, the Vermont Summer Festival offers over $750,000 in prize money, making it the richest sporting event in the state of Vermont. For more information on the 2008 Vermont Summer Festival please visit www.vt-summerfestival.com or e-mail info@vt-summerfestival.com.
$10,000 Escada/Theory Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets
Rider Hometown Horse Faults Time
1 Jimmy Torano FT Lauderdale, FL Magic Cruise 0:0 34.49
2 Mary Lisa Leffler Brookville, MD Gerona 92 0:0 36.63
3 Jimmy Torano FT Lauderdale, FL Tampa 0:0 36.47
4 Jimmy Torano FT Lauderdale, FL Caldam D’Or 0:0 38.37
5 Hillary Dobbs Sussex, NJ Marengo 0:4 36.77
6 Kimberly Mulligan New Canaan, CT Butterfly Rouge 0:4 39.75
7 Alan Korotkin Wellington, FL Ruco-Line Van’t Paradys 0:4 43.63
8 Jimmy Torano FT Lauderdale, FL Ormsby Hill 0:4 45.23
