Bertram Allen and Molly Malone V kicked off a good evening’s work by delivering a crucial clear in the Cascais round of the Global Champions League this evening to help Valkenswaard United to a third place finish and return the team to the top of the table.

Allen’s clear in the team event also netted him third place in the individual element of the competition, and there was more to come when he later partnered Molly to another clear round, this time in the Grand Prix, in which they finished fourth after having one pole down in a five-way jump-off.

Tonight’s team event was won by Mexico Amigos who finished on a total of just four faults over the two days, with clears this evening by Henrik von Eckermann on Chacanno and Yuri Masur Guerios with Babylotte.

Paris Panthers, who had zero faults carried over from yesterday, incurred eight this evening but it was good enough for third place overall.

It was a frustrating contest however for Ireland’s other competitor Cian O’Connor who had jumped clear with Super Sox for the second time in two days for Miami Glory, but it didn’t count as team-mate Scott Brash was disqualified for an alleged spur mark on his horse Hello Forever, meaning the team, who had posted the only zero-fault total, finished pointless. Despite the team disappointment, O’Connor said afterwards he was very pleased with the double-clear from Super Sox.

The Grand Prix was won by Israel’s Danielle Goldstein on Lizziemary, formerly competed by Billy Twomey. The pairing produced one of only two jump-off clears and got home one and a half seconds faster than the target set by Maikel van der Vleuten and VDL Groep Arera C.

Swiss rider Martin Fuchs claimed third with the fastest four-fault jump-off round, just over a second faster than Allen who was last to jump.

The Global Champions Tour moves to Chantilly next weekend, the tenth round of the fifteen in the series.

Mike Dunne

Global Champions League Standings after round 9 Cascais:
(Irish squad members in brackets)
1. Valkenswaard United (Bertram Allen) 170
2. Hamburg Diamonds 166
3. St. Tropez Pirates 160
4. Mexico Amigos 156
5. Doha Fursan Qatar 133
6. London Knights 130
7. Rome Gladiators 127
8. Cannes Stars 126
9. Shanghai Swans 121
10. Chantilly Pegasus 120
11. Miami Glory (Denis Lynch/Cian O’Connor) 119.50
12. Paris Panthers (Darragh Kenny) 115
13. Vienna Eagles 115
14. Madrid In Motion 104
15. Cascais Charms 98
16. Monaco Aces 89
17. Berlin Lions 68
18. Moscow Bears (Michael Kearins) 56.50