On a shortened course, the early competitors in the round stage took a series of risks that yielded faults.

The world number seven Farrington first delivered a steady faultless round of 65.05sec.

Mark Bluman of Colombia on El Conde recorded the quickest round of 62.48 with no faults, while Ireland's Paul O'Shea on Skara Glen's Machu Picchu clocked 63.71.

However, both recorded eight penalties in the jump-off to end their hopes of finishing on the podium.

Instead, it was Farrington who was the only double-clear rider, recording a winning time of 35.96.

As the penultimate rider to compete, the American revealed that the faults of his rivals led to a change in tactics.

"It changed my strategy a lot," he admitted.

"I only had one rider after me, so I thought a neat clear was a smarter play."

He added: "In the first round, she [Gazelle] was hyper careful, so it took a bit of jockeying around.

"I thought the jump-off was a good opportunity to let her settle down and go for a cruise.

"Luckily, that paid off for me with the win."

Farrington's success moved him up to third place in the overall 2021-2022 season FEI Jumping World Cup standings.

Second place in Lexington went to his compatriot McLain Ward riding Contagious, who clocked 32.60 with four penalties in the jump-off.

Israel's Daniel Bluman on Ladriano Z finished third with four faults and a jump-off of 32.62.

Canadian Tiffany Foster stayed top of the World Cup standings with a fourth placed finish on Figor, recording four faults and a time of 33.17 in the jump-off.

She has 42 points for the season, with Conor Swail of Ireland - who did not compete in Lexington - second with 37, and Farrington leapfrogging his fellow American Natalie Dean into third place with 32.

Dean finished sixth riding Chance Ste Hermelle in Lexington, notching a time of 35.00 with four faults.