Treble puts paid to Irish hopes
Mayo rider Hanley and the nine-year-old gelding Living The Dream lowered the second element, while also picking up a single time fault in the €350,000 contest.
Kürten and Arezzo VDL — the chestnut stallion that carried her to victory in October’s Odense GP in Denmark — also knocked the middle element, but fell foul of the third element as well.
Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs aboard PSG Future came out tops in a 13-horse jump-off, earning €115,000 when beating Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum and Zinedine by nine-hundredths of a second. Belgium’s Constant Van Paesschen and Citizenguard Toscan de Sainte was just under a quarter of a second adrift to place third.
Hanley did not leave the French capital without making an impression, though, galloping Dundee vd Dwerse Hagen to victory in a fancy-dress pro-am relay contest with Dassio Morgane, who was dressed as a minion from Despicable Me.
German-based Hanley was appropriately dressed in a costume with smiley faces, while he and his mount both sported battered cowboy hats.
At the two-star show in Lichtenvoorde, the Netherlands, 19-year-old Bertram Allen celebrated moving back up to 17th in the world rankings by winning the grand prix with Wild Thing L.
In China, Cork’s Brian Morrison placed fifth in the Longines Grand Prix in Guangzhou.
