Clarke Johnstone and Sparky Lad (Smart Missile) won the first edition of the Arena Racing Company (ARC) Racehorse to Eventer Challenge at the Cornbury House Horse Trials. They earned £45,000 for their victory.
Owned by Tim Boland, Sparky Lad is out of the More Than Ready mare Lady Hepburn and was formerly trained during his racing days by Chris Waller.
Clarke said, “This is the biggest prize I've won during my career – the prize is amazing and the initiative is fantastic, so thank you very much to Jayne McGivern, David Howden and Arena Racing Company. Ex-racehorses are wonderful athletes and they try their best for you. I hope that this class encourages top riders to ask their local racehorse trainer whether they have a horse that might suit eventing.
“That's what happened with Sparky Lad – his owner, Tim Boland, runs Limitless Lodge, which is a leading breaking and pre-training yard just north of Sydney. He pre-trained Sparky and identified him as a horse that could go on to succeed in eventing. Sparky went into training with Chris Waller and this horse is what Tim described as a 'handy horse' in that he ran more than 30 times and clocked up over A$250,000, winning four times and was placed six times. Sparky has such a beautiful mind – he is the same every day and tries very hard.”
In second was Ben Lee Liles and Finch Fancy (Arvico) who earned £2,000. Lee Liles co-owns the mare with Charlie Ainsworth. Rounding out the top three was the pair of Alexander Tordoff and Jack Randall (Cityscape), owned by Louise Heard. The ARC Racehorse to Eventer Challenge attracted 44 starters in its first year. The four-day Cornbury House Horse trials continue through Sunday, September 14. For more information, please visit their website.
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