'I came thinking he could win'

Two equine rising stars and a fivestar horse having his first run since Kentucky take the podium spots in the four-star short

THE nine-year-old Cooley Snapchat, ridden by Selina Milnes, marked himself as a star of the future when he topped the Defender CCI4*-S.

“It’s really nice to win here because this is such a big event, the organisers make such an effort and Ian Stark’s courses are amazing to ride,” said Selina. “I came here thinking he could win and he did.”

Selina piloted William and Angela Rucker’s son of Kannan round to finish just three seconds over the 6min 42sec optimum time, having showjumped clear. They moved up from eighth after dressage to fifth following showjumping and then into the top spot.

“I actually thought he may have gone a little green in the main ring with the crowds – he hasn’t done a lot – but he jumped really well. Cross-country, he was just on it and he’s so easy to ride. He’s straight, he’s not strong and he just keeps coming,” said Selina.

Selina chose Cooley Snapchat as a very green four-year-old from Richard Sheane’s Cooley yard in Ireland and he was third in the Le Lion seven-year-old World Championships and 15th in the eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S at Blenheim last year.