Charles jumps to victory blindfold

IRELAND’S Peter Charles survived a dramatic moment at Hickstead when his hat slipped over his face and he jumped blindfold down the Derby Bank - but still managed to go clear and repeat his 2001 victory in the Bunn Leisure British Jumping Derby with Corrada.

The Irish pair joined a select band with two or more triumphs in this gruelling classic when they defeated Robert Smith and Mr Springfield after a duel against the clock.

Smith and his courageous nine-year-old, who had won the Derby Trial two days earlier, went first and attempted to win from the front. They set a cracking pace, but Mr Springfield, who was making his Derby debut, tired. He lowered the first part of the Devil’s Dyke and sealed his fate by hooking off the front rail of the last with a front hoof.