Hughes gains narrow win on Good Lucky Girl in Vilamoura grand prix

SHOW jumper Marion Hughes won the grand prix in the two-star show at Vilamoura, Portugal, yesterday, while also slotting into sixth.

The Kilkenny woman steered Emelie Bjorkman’s Good Lucky Girl home 15 hundredths of a second faster than Ukranian Gregory Whatelet.

She also produced a double clear with the Irish-bred HHS Cheiro to take sixth place.

It was Hughes’s second win at the fixture, after topping a two-phase class on Saturday with Good Lucky Girl.

Mayo rider Cameron Hanley also had a brace at Arezzo, Italy. His first came on Friday, when he rode SIEC Royal Star to victory in the grand prix qualifier. Yesterday, the German-based rider had almost a second to spare when winning a jump-off class on SIEC Concept.

Shane Breen finished fourth in the British Open Championships with World Cruise in a competition that saw riders accumulate penalties over four days of competition in Birmingham, as Jessica Kürten placed 10th on Castle Forbes Vivaldo.

Mark Kyle followed his runner-up in the indoor cross-country class with victory in the relay on Saturday riding Drunken Disorderly after teaming up with Briton William Whitaker.