Robert Splaine confident of Cup success at Nations Cup
The Corkman felt the odds were in his team’s favour, yet he knows well the vagaries of the sport curtail any tendency to be overly-optimistic.
“I think if the team performs to the best of its ability, we are in with a good chance of winning, but everything has to come right on the day. The performances this week in the run-up to tomorrow’s competition have been satisfactory.
“I don’t underestimate the opposition here, though, plus Alan Wade is a tough course builder and he wouldn’t be one to take any prisoners, but it’s the same for everybody,” said Splaine, as he announced the same quartet of riders that won the Swiss Nations Cup in June to do the business today.
Bertram Allen, 20, is the pathfinder, but the Wexford native has opted for Noel Delahunty’s Hector Van D’Abdijhoeve in place of Molly Malone V. The remaining three riders are on the mounts that won in Switzerland, with Olympic-bound Greg Broderick riding the Caledonia Stables-owned MHS Going Global in the number two slot, followed by Denis Lynch on his own and Thomas Straumann’s All Star 5, while the pressure position is again allocated to the cool head of Olympic bronze medalist Cian O’Connor on the expressive Good Luck, jointly owned with Canadian Frank Stronach. Ireland are drawn third of the eight nations.
The Furusiyya Series format that sees teams picking up points at only four of the eight shows, means the leaderboard is disingenuous, to say the least. For example, the Netherlands top the rankings, leading Switzerland by 90 points — equivalent to a second-place finish — but the Netherlands is the only country showing a four-show points tally, so the measure of its lead is misleading.
This year, calculating the standings was complicated further by the cancellation of the Belgian leg following heavy rain in Lummen. This was one of the four point-scoring shows allocated to Ireland, meaning our current sixth place is inaccurate, as is the case for Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Italy, who fill the bottom four places, respectively.
Ireland and those four countries will pick up an average of the total points they earned in their other three point-gaining shows when the season concludes in Hickstead next week.
The bottom line, however, is that victory today for Ireland looks as if it might give Splaine and Co the series once Switzerland do not win in Hickstead.
However, the Corkman said his focus would be on doing as well as possible today regardless of what it might mean in a week’s time.
“Yes it’s possible that, mathematically, we can win the series but our focus is not on that, rather it’s on one competition at a time. Our win in Switzerland was very significant, our performance in Falsterbo was good, but the result wasn’t, so only a win tomorrow will do.”
Splaine agreed the points system needed to be reconsidered.
“It is a great series, but it’s difficult for anyone to articulate logically what’s actually required in terms of winning the series or being relegated, etc, as the season develops, because the scoring system is such that there are many permutations.
“The bottom line for me is that I will always try to field our best available team in order that we can do our best in each competition that counts for points and this is certainly the case tomorrow.”
Cian O’Connor gave Ireland a winning start to the show on Wednesday and Billy Twomey repeated the feat yesterday when taking the plaudits in the Speed Derby on the 12-year-old stallion Ardcolum Duke. He finished with over a second to spare on his fellow Corkman Shane Sweetnam, riding Cyklon. Ireland’s dominance was completed by Dermott Lennon, the Down rider coming late on Vampire to deny a podium finish for Olympic hopeful Greg Broderick aboard Zuidam.
The day, however, belonged to Lorenzo De Luca, the Italian adding two victories to his opening day win.
In the Serpentine Stakes, he partnered his Wednesday winner Limestone Grey —bred by David Moran, Co Limerick — to deny Twomey, riding Tin Tin, with Jessica Springsteen placing third on Davendy S.
The daughter of rock star Bruce then came close to her first win at the show with Tiger Lily, but again it was De Luca who proved fastest, this time on the nine-year-old stallion Halifax van het Kluizebos in the two-phase Anglesea Stakes. His countryman Gianni Govoni steered Antonio to third place.
Under threat of arrest, Ukranian equestrian backer Alexandr Onyshchenko was notably absent this week when the FEI published its list of definite entries for the Olympics.
The Ukrainian squad is: Cassio Rivetti (formerly Brazil and listed with Fine Fleur du Marais), Ferenc Szentirmai (formerly Hungary and listed with Chadino and Chaccland), Rene Tebbel (formerly Germany and listed with Zipper), and the 1996 Olympic individual gold medal winner Ulrich Kirchhoff (formerly Germany and listed with Prince de la Mare).
All the horses have had their ownership transferred from Onyshchenko to include the riders and German Paul Schockemohle, except for Chadino, who is listed as being owned by Szentirmai and a Lebanese woman, Jasmine Busson.
Speculation has been rife in recent weeks that the assets — including the horses — owned by the oligarch and MP Onyshchenko could be seized after his immunity from arrest was lifted by the parliament in the midst of accusations he was in involved in a multi-million euro fraud involving the sale of gas.
It could have meant the Ukrainians being unable to field a team for the Olympics and Ireland filling the place as first reserve.
As revealed here last week, the matter was brought to the attention of the Federation Equestre Internationale’s integrity unity, Quest, by an Irish person.
An FEI spokesperson said: ‘The Equestrian Community Integrity Unit (ECIU) was contacted about this matter and responded to the query directly. The ECIU also investigated the matter and submitted a report to the FEI. Additionally, the FEI has received official written confirmation from a German notary public confirming the sale of Mr Onishchenko’s horses to Paul Schockemohle and the four Ukrainian Olympic riders in a contract dated 27 June 2016.”
Ireland pony manager Anne Marie Dunphy has selected the following dressage squad for the European Championships in Aarhus Vilhelmsborg, Denmark, on August 17 to 21: Laura Dennehy, 16, from Cork riding Julie Lockey’s Ella; Tara Hayes, 14, from Kildare, riding Fiona Hayes’s Bantiss Holy Joe; Robyn O’Neill, 14, from Limerick, riding Kathryn Taylor’s Belsasser; Emily Kate Robinson, 16, from Waterford, riding Elisabeth Ayn’s Crown Imagine or Geraldine Robinson’s Tisrara Hill (ISH).
