Sweetnam back to winning ways

Shane Sweetnam got back to winning ways in stunning fashion at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, scoring a hat-trick, but just losing out in Saturday’s $82,000 grand prix.

The feature class on week five of the $4m festival saw the Corkman and the 11-year-old mare Siri among 14 of the 47 starters to pass the first-round test.

Last to go, he put in a determined effort, but could not deny Briton Ben Maher, riding Urico, achieving back-to-back grand prix wins.

Third place went to Brianne Goutal with Uata, the American crediting his trainer Co Down’s Conor Swail, who also made the jump-off, but finished 8th after Carlotta Singular four-faulted.

Sweetnam was pleased with Spy Coast Farm’s Swedish warmblood Siri.

“She is still green enough at this level. This time last year she only started doing 1.40m, so she has come a long way in only a year,” said the Kanturk rider, who in preceding days had savoured wins with Cyklon 1083, Beluga and Everly Chin de la Pomme.

He has had the 12-year-old Swedish warmblood stallion Cyklon for just over a year, notching up victories in Switzerland, Canada and the US.

“He is a little fighter,” Sweetnam said. “He really wants to win and he can sometimes be a little bit hard to ride, because he wants to win so much. He doesn’t listen all the time, but when we get it right, it seems to work out well.”

In Bordeaux Denis Lynch finished fifth in the World Cup class, knocking the last fence with Abbervail van het Dingeshof in the jump-off with victory almost guaranteed. Lynch is up to to sixth in the Western European League and is assured of a place in the Gothenburg final.