Irish riders once again displayed their dominance of the individual classes at the five-star show in Falsterbo, Sweden, taking the top three places in the famous Falsterbo Derby this afternoon.
Bertram Allen, who won the Grand Prix qualifier on Friday in another competition where Ireland took the top three places, was second to jump in the opening round today and went clear with the eight year-old Christy Jr.
Further down the 14-strong startlist in the 85,000 euro class, Shane Sweetnam and the nine year-old mare Indra van de Oude Heihoef also came home clear, as did last-man-in Cian O’Connor aboard the stallion Copain du Perchet, the combination that had won Saturday’s Derby qualifier.
At the end, only four combinations made it through to the jump-off, with Sweden’s Peder Fredricson and H&M Carat Desire joining the Irish contingent.
Clears were the preserve of the Irish in the final round, with Fredricson dropping a pole for four faults.
Allen was fastest of the Irish trio, clocking in at 49.31 seconds, with Sweetnam just under a second behind at 50.02, and O’Connor taking third place on 51.20.
The Longines Falsterbo Grand Prix is scheduled for 1pm on Sunday.
Jack Burns
