Central Park (Euro Sport Centavos - Silk and Spice x Omnicorp xx), the joint winner of last year’s six-year-old series, is now leading the seven-year-old series with 28 points after four rounds of competition. This beautiful NZ Sport Horse gelding was bred by Imogen Neale, and is owned and ridden by Maurice Beatson. The horse who shared top six-year-old honours with him last year, Double J Barman (Double J Repicharge - Double J Chatalaine xx x Backchat xx), has not really begun his seven-year-old campaign.

Central Park’s sire, ES Centavos (Escudo I x Annabell Staatsprämie x Argentinus), is an imported Hanoverian and a magnificent showjumper, who won the Olympic Cup (Horse of the Year) in 2015. He has a number of national title-holders among his progeny, all of whom are still under 11 years old; he also has progeny in the USA. Centavos has just enjoyed back-to-back Grand Prix wins with his owner/rider Claudia Hay, and seems to pass on his superb jumping technique to his offspring. He was bred by Heinz Schüette of Spelle, Germany.

Two more NZSH geldings, both bred by New Zealand Performance Horses (NZPH), fill the next places in the seven-year-old series. The very scopey Cadenza NZPH (Kannan - U Can Dance NZPH x Fuego du Prelet) has 24 points after four rounds for Rose Alfeld, and the equally impressive Cadillac NZPH (Jokus Latour - Untouched NZPH x Cabdulla du Tillard) has 22 after three, for Samantha Peters. This horse finished second in last year’s six-year-old Horse of the Year.

Sharing fourth spot with 20 points after three rounds each are two NZ Warmblood mares, LC Taste of Diamonds (Lindberg des Hayettes - Cenarco x Corlando) bred by Steve Cohen at LC Horse Farm, and Lotte (Corofino II - Moll Flanders x Brilliant Invader xx). Lotte’s breeder is unrecorded, but her sire, the Holsteiner Corofino II (by the late, wonderful Corrado) is an Elite NZWB stallion and was bred by Hobe Bernhard. He is a full brother to Corofino I.

An Indoctro gelding, Monte Carlo MVNZ (Indoctro VDL - Auburn Princess MVNZ x Senator VDL), who has jumped three rounds so far, is sixth with 17 points. He was bred by Mount View Sport Horses. Although he’s listed as a New Zealand Sport Horse, Monte Carlo has all-European bloodlines. His dam, Auburn Princess MVNZ, was the first embryo transfer foal to be born at the stud, and her own dam, Charming Princess, also known as H-Princess (Cordeur x Grannus x Hartgold), was imported from Belgium, where she was the national champion filly of her year...CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO BREEDING NEWS

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