Townend wins ugly at Ballindenisk

Briton Ollie Townend doubled his chances of pocketing a €50,000 bonus next September when victorious with the Irish-bred Douglas at Ballindenisk International Horse Trials in Cork yesterday.

With the going very sticky after a night of rain, the Cheshire-based rider had, despite his win, no hesitation in muddying his performance in the three-star, short-format class.

“It was probably the ugliest round I have ever ridden with him,” he declared. “I let him run away with me and lost a bit of jump in the process, but he’s a very good horse,” said Townend, who withdrew Neo Du Breuil, the mount that had put him in pole position after Saturday’s dressage and cross-country.

Townend will return to Ballindenisk in September and if victorious in the long-format class with either Douglas, or Imperial Master (his winning mount last September) he will take home the inaugural €50,000 Goresbridge Go For Gold Bonus.

Event director Peter Fell said Townend’s talent for winning makes him a likely contender. “He’s just brilliant. Winning comes naturally to him,” he said. “He’s a world beater and with a hunger to match.”

Amazingly, it was Townend’s third feature win at the north Cork venue in just over a year, and for emphasis, he also yesterday took the top two places in the CCI two-star contest with Cooley Master Class and Black Tie, respectively.

But he was made to work for his three-star win, with Carlow’s Sam Watson (Horseware Bushman) coming home on 57.7 penalties, a mere 0.7 more than Townend, while Joseph Murphy (Electric Cruise) and Capt Geoff Curran (The Jump Jet) were also queuing up behind him.

In show jumping, Derry’s Daniel Coyle put the icing on the cake of his second HSI/Blue Grass Spring Tour title by taking the top two places in yesterday’s final leg at Coilog with Javas Wild Thing and Uptown Girl, respectively.