Ireland’s Denis Lynch had two top ten finishes at the Global Champions’ Tour show in Rome, Italy today, while in the five-star event at Lausanne in Switzerland Mayo rider Cameron Hanley took a sixth place.

Tipperary’s Lynch piloted his bay stallion All Star through to the eight-horse jump-off in Rome, but as first to go had the disadvantage of having to watch the other seven contenders try to equal or better his time.

At the finish, France’s Simon Delestre took the trophy with the 11 year-old gelding Chesall Zimequest, seeing off a challenge from Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer and Leonard de la Ferme CH whose time on the clock was just over half a second slower.

Lynch settled for sixth at the end, adding to his seventh place finish in the earlier 1m45 Two Phase class on Campino.

The Irish rider will bring out All Star again on Saturday afternoon for the 300,000 euro Global Champions Tour Grand Prix, where he will be joined by fellow-countryman Bertram Allen and Hector van d’Abdijhoeve. Lynch will be 34th to jump of 41 starters, and Allen 29th.

In Lausanne, meanwhile, Cameron Hanley and Falco van Spieveld also made it through to a large 16 horse jump off in the 1m45 feature class, but like Lynch, though jumping two clear rounds finished in sixth place overall. The winner in Switzerland was local rider Paul Estermann with the Irish-bred Castlefield Eclipse.

Jack Burns