County Meath’s Cian O’Connor finished third in Sunday’s $1m Grand Prix at Thermal in southern California having travelled over from his winter base in Florida for this final feature class on the HITS Coachella desert circuit.
Over a 1.50m track designed by Ireland’s Alan Wade, O’Connor, who was third to jump in the 54-strong class, posted the first of six clears in round one with Good Luck. Again clear in round two, as pathfinder he had to wait and see how his time of 43.986 would hold up and it was bettered twice, by the USA’s Mandy Porter riding Milano (41.600) and Canada’s Tamie Phillips with Cristar.
For his efforts on the 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion Good Luck, O’Connor picked up €120,000 while Tipperary native Kevin Babington, a longtime resident in the USA, earned €10,000 for his 10th place finish on Shorapur.
O’Connor said afterwards: “Good Luck is keeping up his consistent clear rounds, delivering two class rounds today. Going first to go I was perhaps too cautious and could have taken more chances but I’m pleased with the result, and of course the big cheque!”
Earlier in the day, in Wellington, Florida, Co Galway’s Andrew Bourns, riding CHS Inception, recorded a second clear in 40.434 to finish fourth in the 1.50m jump-off class won by the USA’s Laura Chapot on Quointreau un Prince (34.794). Kilkenny’s Richie Moloney, who landed Friday’s speed class on the Irish Sport Horse Slieveanorra (ahead of Sunday’s winning combination), picked up four faults in round two to place sixth with Free Style de Muze.
At the weekend’s five-star show in Paris, Wexford’s Bertram Allen and Ballywalter Farms’ grey mare Molly Malone recorded one of only three first round clears in Sunday’s 1.60m Grand Prix. First to go against the clock, the Irish combination set a good time of 39.20 but, unfortunately, lowered the second last fence for four faults.
The home crowd were delighted when Penelope Leprevost left all the poles intact with Vagabond de la Pomme but their time of 41.44 was only good enough for second when Australia’s Edwina Alexander-Tops, riding California, stopped the clock on 41.36 to take the first place prize-money of €132,000.
Co Down’s Dermott Lennon recorded some good placings at Vejer de la Frontera in south west Spain over the weekend, highlighted by his third place finish in Sunday’s four-star Grand Prix with Judith Sossick’s home-bred mare Loughview Lou Lou, a 15-year-old by Limmerick.
Britain’s Guy Williams took the honours when recording his second clear in 41.28 with Depardieu van t Kiezelhof while Belgium’s Fabienne Daigneux-Lange filled the runner-up slot with Venue d’Fees des Hazalles in 41.41. Lennon’s time over the shortened 1.55m track was 42.75.
In international dressage, Ireland’s James Connor and his 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding Casino’ Royal scored 67.961 per cent to place second to Austria’s Ulrike Prunthaller on Duccio (69.353) in Saturday’s Grand Prix Special at the three-star show in Caselle Di Sommacampagna, Italy. Last year’s winner of the class, Russia’s Tatiana Miloserdova riding Awakening, had to settle for third on 67.863.
The national eventing season commenced on Sunday at Ballindenisk, Co Cork where the top-ranked advanced class (CNC3*) went to Co Down’s Joseph Murphy riding Sportsfield Othello, the only combination in the 11-runner competition to complete on their dressage score (26.6). Co Meath’s Sarah Ennis finished second and third with Horseware Stellor Rebound and BLM Diamond Delux, both of which had a total score of 37.3.
Murphy’s spring target for Sportsfield Othello, a 16-year-old Ricardo Z gelding owned by the rider’s wife Jill in partnership with British couple Alison Schmutz and Andrew Tinkler, is the Badminton horse trials in early May. This will be a fourth visit to the famed four-star event for the horse which finished 25th in 2015.
The O/CNC2* class, one of seven legs in this year’s superleague sponsored by Co Kilkenny animal feeds company Connolly’s Red Mills, was won Co Carlow’s Sam Watson riding his own 13-year-old Puissance gelding Ardagh Highlight.
With Diarmuid Byrne, Watson is co-founder of the sports data analytics company EquiRatings whose ERQI system led to huge improvements in rider safety in Ireland last season and is being trialled by British Eventing this year.
