Ireland’s Bertram Allen wins Hong Kong jump-off

Show jumper Bertram Allen had a superb opening on his debut at the Longines Hong Kong Masters yesterday, winning the feature class, placing second in a relay, and finishing fourth in a speed class.

The 20-year-old Wexford rider’s victory in the Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy came aboard Quiet Easy 4, earning him more than $31,000. One of 14 in the jump-off, he steered the 12-year-old chestnut gelding over the finish line 900ths of a second faster than Finland’s Anna-Julia Kontio on Pacific des Essarts, with Briton Laura Renwick (Bintang II) placing third.

The relay, which featured show jumpers and Hong Kong’s top jockeys, saw Allen and Kildare’s Neil Callan — under the banner The Irish Flames — denied in the final round by Brazilian jockey Joao Moreira and Germany’s Daniel Deusser, who filled in for compatriot Marco Kutscher after he fell ill.