Breen and O’Brien share joint second place in Hickstead Derby
This came from Britain’s Tina Fletcher, riding Promised Land, but four faults from Sheen, on board Mullaghdrin Gold Rain, and Capt O’Brien with the Cruising gelding Mo Chroí was enough to earn the pair €17,000.
Joining the Irish duo for a share of second place were Briton Michael Whitaker (Animation II), his compatriot Ronnie Healy and another Cruising offspring, the grey gelding Carlow Cruiser, and defending champion Guy Williams (Richi Rich III), who last year beat Fletcher in a two-horse jump-off.
Tipperary rider Breen, who is based in Hickstead, notched up two wins on “home turf”, winning Saturday’s Speed Derby with ease on Magic Fox, having also claimed the Speed Derby Qualifier with the same horse.
In the Global Champions Tour contest in Monte Carlo, Denis Lynch (All Inclusive NRW) and Billy Twomey (Tinka’s Serenade) both retired, the former in round one and the latter in round two. The competition was won by Sweden’s Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (Casall La Silla). Twomey’s best result saw him place third in a 1.50m jump-off class on Romanov.
Francis Connors claimed his second Charleville Grand Prix in successive years yesterday in Cork in a competition that saw him take three of the top five placings. Riding two of the three horses in the jump-off, the Waterford veteran opened with six faults on Lundy Lad.
When last to go on Dansson, he had the comfort of knowing he could leave a pole on the ground and still win after his predecessor, Seamus Hayes (Twister) had four faulted. With this in mind, he upped the pace and, despite this, looked to be on his way to producing the only double clear, until the penultimate intervened.
He crossed the finish line a full three seconds ahead of Hayes to claim the top prize in the TRM Grand Prix League contest for the second year. Connors was also fifth on Westwind’s Cirracruise. A successful weekend also saw him place fourth with Lundy Lad in Saturday’s West Clare contest, won by Mervyn Clarke on Money Train.
