For the third successive week Irish riders have made the Grand Prix headlines, with the latest success coming at Bolesworth, UK this afternoon where Anthony Condon and Balzac claimed the honours just minutes after Cian O’Connor had taken third in the five-star event at Treffen in Austria.

Condon came into the Bolesworth jump-off with Britain’s Keith Shore holding sway on Mystic Hurricane having posted the only double-clear, but the Irish rider matched the faultless round and crossed the timer with well over three seconds to spare for the win.

Darragh Kenny and Team de Coquerie carried four faults into the second round but went clear next time out to take fifth place overall.

Shortly beforehand, at the Glock meeting in Treffen, Austria, O’Connor, partnering Skyhorse, was chasing his second successive five-star Grand Prix win but fell just under a second short of leader Steve Guedat’s time of 49.43 on Corbinian, which was then equalled by Martin Fuchs on Clooney, leaving the Irish rider in third and the two Swiss competitors sharing first place.

Denis Lynch took sixth place, having been fast and clear until the last in the jump-off on All Star.

Two weeks ago Bertram Allen (Hector van d’Abdijhoeve) and Richard Howley (Chinook) made it an Irish one-two respectively in the five-star Grand Prix at St. Gallen on the same weekend that Conor Swail (Flower) was runner-up in the four-star Grand Prix at Langley Canada in which Daniel Coyle (Cita) took third.

Last weekend O’Connor won the five-star Grand Prix at Sopot, Poland on Good Luck.

Mike Dunne