Breen has high hopes for Zarnita

Tipperary rider Shane Breen has high hopes for Zarnita, the nine-year-old mare that gave him his second win in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hickstead, England, on Saturday.

Breen was the first male winner of the trophy in 2008 and he repeated the feat when chopping 0.6 of a second off the time set by Robert Whitaker (Asterix E Z) when last to go in a five-horse jump-off, with William Funnell and Billy Balou in third.

“It’s great to win any class at Hickstead, but I’m delighted to win with Zarnita, as the owner, Sarah Jane Knight, lives locally,” said Breen, who is based at the West Sussex showground and won the Furusiyya Rider of the Day award when producing a double clear in Ireland’s fourth-place finish in the nations cup on Friday.

“Last year, when the mare won the Old Lodge Breeding Championships, I said it would be great if she could come back next year and win the Queen Elizabeth II Cup,” said the 38-year-old.

Breen believes the mare has the talent to go to the top.

“She only started jumping when she was six, so she’s relatively inexperienced, but she’s got loads of scope and is very careful. She’s a peculiar kind of mare as she jumps better the bigger the course, so don’t be surprised if you see her in a nations cup or grand prix next year,” he said.

At the South County Dublin Show, Liam O’Meara recorded his first TRM/Horseware Premier Series win yesterday with the faster of only two double clears in the competition.

The Tipperary rider was among seven to prove themselves equal to the first-round test set by course designer Alan Wade in the class, which was held at Coilog Equestrian Centre, Co Kildare. Riding Mr Coolcaum, O’Meara had a third of a second to spare over Sven Hadley on Realt Na Carraig, with Cian O’Connor producing the fastest time of the day on Unique, but with a rail down to finish third.

League leader Peter Smyth got a single point when 10th with Victoria Rose, putting him on 32pts, just three ahead of Edward Doyle, who placed seventh with Samgemjee to move ahead of Paddy O’Donnell on 28. Any of the top five can win the series, with points-and-a-half on offer in the final at Coilog on Aug 25.

On Saturday, Tholm Keane made it two wins in successive weekends in the TRM Horseware National League with Ronan Tynan’s Warrenstown You 2. The Waterford man had almost two seconds in hand over his nearest rival, Vanessa Mannix on Nirvana De Terlong.