Early Christmas present for O’Connor at Olympia

CIAN O’CONNOR gave himself an early Christmas present yesterday, winning the Welcome Stakes on the first day of the London International Horse Show in Olympia.

The performance meant back-to-back victories (of sorts) for the 31-year-old, who rounded off last year’s show with victory in the grand prix with Rancorrado, the first time Ireland had won the class since Eddie Macken’s triumph in 1987.

O’Connor was on board Umberto yesterday and finished just under a fifth of a second ahead of veteran Briton John Whitaker on Dazzle II in the two-phase class, with Ben Maher, riding Toklund, third.