Twomey delighted with GP win

SHOW JUMPER Billy Twomey believes his victory in the grand prix at the Horse of the Year Show is proof his stallion, Je T’Aime Flamenco, has the potential to go all the way.

The victory capped a hat-trick at the Birmingham event for the Corkman, who showed he was well and truly over the effects of a serious fall in April that saw him unconscious for 30 minutes and the promising stallion Pikap put down after breaking a leg.

Flamenco, however, has given him every right to feel the future is bright.

“Tinka’s Serenade has been off with a tendon injury, so Flamenco has had to step up to the mark and he showed he has the makings of a top grand prix and nations cup horse. I’ve had him since he was five and he was national champion as a seven-year-old and each year he has done something special.

“He improved again this weekend, so I’m delighted.

“The Horse of the Year Show is never a giveaway, with the likes of Michael and John Whitaker and Tim Stockdale here.”

Cheshire-based Twomey was one of six in the jump-off, with the odds favouring a win from his five British rivals. Ben Maher and Robin Hood W opened with a clear in 43.34 seconds, but Michael Whitaker and Wonami Van Den Aard had little trouble beating this, lowering the target to 42.59.

Twomey and Je T’Aime Flamenco found another 0.23 seconds and he watched as Robert Smith (Kalusha), Laura Renwick (Limelight De Breve) and Tim Stockdale (Fresh Direct Corlato) each four-faulted in their bid to beat the 31-year-old Monkstown rider.

Twomey had opened his account on Thursday with victory in a 1.45m class on Fantasia, the eight-year-old chestnut mare also providing him with his second win on Friday afternoon.

As for his plans with Flamenco: “I’ll go to the big show in Belfast at the end of the month, but I’m going to ease off a bit after that, as he is only eight and has been doing a lot of big classes,” said Twomey.

Meanwhile, in Oslo, Cameron Hanley (Southwind VDL) and Jessica Kürten were out of luck in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier, going out in round one with eight faults. Mayo man Hanley claimed an earlier class with the stallion SIEC Royal Star.

In eventing, the Irish team of Capt Geoff Curran (The Jump Jet), Sacha Louise Pemble (Hyanie D’Aubrie), George Russell (Young Man) and Austin O’Connor (Lily of the West) finished fourth of nine nations in Boekelo, the Netherlands.