Highlands Stars of the Show
Seven Elo points separate the two best horses at Amenia, and the rest of the Highlands Cup field brings clear rounds, career highs and a winning habit of its own.
Seven Elo points separate the two best horses at Amenia this week, and both arrive at their best. Shane Sweetnam’s James Kann Cruz is on 790, the highest rating of his career. Kent Farrington’s Toulayna is on 783, also a career high. The next horse in the field sits on 746.
They got there on very different mileage. James Kann Cruz has jumped 45 rounds at CSI5* 1.60m, major Championship Grand Prix and World Cup level and finished on the podium 22 times. Toulayna has jumped 18, with two wins and five podiums.
Behind them, a Bluman double act, a McLain Ward horse at the top of his game and a second Farrington ride with a near perfect record make up the rest of the headline acts at Keane Stud.
TWO AT THE TOP
SEVEN POINTS APART
Head to Head
Identical clear rates, different mileage
Career records at CSI5* 1.60m, major Championship Grand Prix and World Cup level.
| James Kann Cruz Sweetnam · IRL |
Toulayna Farrington · USA |
|
|---|---|---|
| Elo | 790 | 783 |
| Clears | 25 of 45 | 10 of 18 |
| Clear Rate | 56% | 56% |
| Podiums | 22 | 5 |
| Wins | 3 | 2 |
Elo is an overall performance rating that measures a horse’s quality across its recent results. The higher the number, the better.
Both horses jump clear 56% of the time at this level. James Kann Cruz has kept that up over a long career, finishing in the top three almost every other time he starts, 22 podiums from 43 classifications. Toulayna is the less experienced force, with ten clears from 18 rounds and a rating that has never been higher. In MLSJ Grands Prix she has cleared Round 1 in five of her six starts.
Sweetnam already knows the way round Amenia. He and James Kann Cruz finished third in the Highlands Cup Grand Prix last October, one of twelve combinations to clear Round 1 and make the jump-off.
The Field by Elo
The top ten horses at Amenia
Clears are career results for each horse and rider combination entered this week.
Swipe to see the full table →
| # | Horse | Rider | Elo | Clears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Kann Cruz | Shane Sweetnam · IRL | 790 | 25 of 45 |
| 2 | Toulayna | Kent Farrington · USA | 783 | 10 of 18 |
| 3= | Corbie V.V. | Daniel Bluman · ISR | 746 | 15 of 27 |
| 3= | Landon De Nyze | Mark Bluman · ISR | 746 | 4 of 8 |
| 5 | High Star Hero | McLain Ward · USA | 744 | 7 of 19 |
| 6 | Kick On | Lillie Keenan · USA | 741 | 4 of 15 |
| 7 | Ideaal ES | Chris Pratt · CAN | 727 | 2 of 6 |
| 8= | For Gold | Jordan Coyle · IRL | 725 | 5 of 12 |
| 8= | My Clementine | Nina Mallevaey · FRA | 725 | 1 of 2 |
| 10 | Acota M | Natalie Dean · USA | 718 | 5 of 20 |
A 37-point gap opens up after Toulayna. Below it, the field tightens. Four horses sit between 741 and 746, and two of their riders share a surname.
Daniel Bluman & Corbie V.V. · ISR
Clear more often than not
Three horses in this field have jumped more than 25 rounds at this level. Two of them clear 56% of the time. Corbie V.V. is the second, with 15 clears from 27 rounds. He finished ninth in last year’s Highlands Cup Grand Prix after a clear Round 1, and no combination in MLSJ history has jumped more clear first rounds.
Mark Bluman matches his cousin point for point on Elo. Landon De Nyze is also on 746, with four clears from eight rounds and a win already on his record. Two Blumans, two horses, one rating.
McLain Ward & High Star Hero · USA
Arriving at his best
High Star Hero comes to Amenia on the best rating he has ever had. His 744 is a career high, and he has two wins and four podiums from 19 rounds with Ward at this level.
He is one of five horses rated above 700 who arrive at Amenia on a career high. James Kann Cruz and Toulayna are two more. Chris Pratt’s Ideaal ES, on 727, and Farrington’s Descartes SR, on 716, complete the group.
Kent Farrington & Descartes SR · USA
Four podiums from five starts
Farrington’s second ride has the shortest record of any star in this field and the best return on it. Descartes SR has jumped clear in four of five rounds at this level and finished on the podium four times.
Both of Farrington’s rides arrive on career-high ratings. Between them, Toulayna and Descartes SR have three wins and nine podiums at this level.
The Highlands Cup connection: James Kann Cruz and Corbie V.V. both cleared Round 1 of the inaugural Grand Prix at Keane Stud last October, finishing third and ninth. Both return this week with higher ratings than they had then.
One in four rounds at this level ends clear for this week’s field. James Kann Cruz, Toulayna and Corbie V.V. more than double that. If the Grand Prix course plays anything like the average, the jump-off should start with familiar names.
Bluman and Corbie V.V. arrive fresh from a Grand Prix win, and only James Kann Cruz has more clear rounds at this level. James Kann Cruz has the top rating and the podiums. Toulayna is seven points behind him on a career high. High Star Hero has never been rated higher either, and Descartes SR has jumped clear four times in five. Who is your star of the show at the Highlands Cup?
Stats cover career results at CSI5* 1.60m, major Championship Grand Prix and World Cup level for the horse and rider combinations entered at the Highlands Cup. Results a horse produced with a different rider are not included. Elo is a horse rating and applies across riders. 60 of the 98 entered combinations have results at this level. Entries correct at the time of writing and subject to change.