Cian O'Connor led the Irish charge on the first night of The Horse of The Year Show at Birmingham with a victory in the big feature class, the 1m50 Vinopolis Classic, on the ten-year-old Irish Independent Echo Beach.
The 27-year-old Meath-based rider brought the Irish-bred chestnut mare across the beam just under two seconds ahead of Holland's Maikel Van der Vleuten, while Tipperary's Shane Breen slotted World Cruise into tenth place.
Earlier, Cork-born Billy Twomey took a runner-up spot with Whinny Jackson in the Two-Phase competition, while Shane Breen had another top ten placing when finishing seventh with Carmena Z in the first international class of the night, the Welcome Stakes.
