both Ur. Kussell and Mr. Cramer made it clear

both Ur. Kussell and Mr. Cramer made it clear they were in this race to win from the start of the Old Dominion Hunt Cup. The two riders urged their mounts to the front shortly after the first fence and proceeded to pull away from the rest of the six-horse field by more than 10 lengths.

Once in front of the pack, Marat and Cookin’ N Lookin began swapping the lead, with first Marat in front, and then Cookin’ N Lookin.

Cookin’ N Lookin was in front as the field swooped past the judges the third of four times. Mr. Cramer stood up slightly in the saddle to hold back his eager mount as the old gelding rushed toward the next fence, and it appeared, for a brief while, as though the veteran rider might repeat his previous year’s performance and pull up a lap early.

“I was counting,” Mr. Cramer said with a smile afterwards. “I had beans in my mouth and was spitting them out after each lap,” he joked.

On the final lap Marat overtook Cookin’ N Lookin briefly, but was then reeled in again. The two jumped side by side over the next three fences before Cookin’ N Lookin opened up a slight lead with two to go.

Cookin’ N Lookin was in front at the last fence, but only just. He cleared the fence just in front of Marat who twisted slightly to avoid hitting the front runner and banged the top rail, almost losing his rider.

At that point, the race was Cookin’ N Lookin’s as the Minquadale-Feudin’ N Fightin gelding pulled away in the stretch to win by a good four lengths. A distance behind the leaders Bruce Rosenbaum spurred on Oriental Express at the last fence to take third with Allen Olson on Hilliard’s Deal breezing by Stewart Marr’s Jolly Jake in the stretch for fourth.

“They went too fast out there, you’ve got to do something about that,” Mr. Cramer said afterwards.

When asked what his future plans were for himself and his wanning mount, the 60-year-old former