Darragh Kenny led home an Irish 1-2 in the Sport Ireland Classic on the opening day of the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS.
Kenny's triumph in the day’s feature, in conjunction with his 13-year-old stallion Chic Chic, came at the primary expense of Mikey Pender and HHS Los Angeles.
This positive result for Irish riders – Cian O’Connor also finished fourth on Fermoy, just ahead of world number one Henrik Von Eckermann and Glamour Girl – concluded a day that started with European Championship U21 team gold and individual silver medallist Francis Derwin (below) also recording five-star glory in the first international class of the show this morning.
Kenny was following up last week's four-star victory and subsequent Grand Prix runner-up finish in Deauville, and he celebrated being named on the Irish team competing in Friday’s Aga Khan Cup by claiming top prize in the 1.60m speed class.
Kenny and Chic Chic went clear in a time of 69.17 seconds to become the ninth home rider to prevail in the last 10 renewals of the Sport Ireland Classic.
The winning time was marginally ahead of Kildare pilot Pender and HHS Los Angeles, who stopped the clock on 70.20.
"That’s a good start to the week," said Kenny. "It’s always nice to be home here in Dublin. It’s a brilliant show and to win is always great.
"He’s a super horse. He’s been unbelievably consistent all summer. The last five shows he’s been at, he won a ranking class at every one of them except one, which he was second at. He’s been on-form all summer.
"For a little horse he’s got a really big stride and he really tries so you can go at the jumps. You needn’t worry too much about him knocking him down. He doesn’t often knock them down."
The first international class of the week went to Derwin, who spearheaded an Irish 1-2-3 in the Main Arena at the RDS.
Derwin has enjoyed a lot of domestic success with Parvati AEG this year but they took it to another level by seeing off a strong global challenge of 43 combinations for the five-star 1.45m test against the clock.
While almost half of the field went clear (21), none were as rapid as Derwin and his nine-year-old chestnut mare, who registered a time of 52.51 seconds despite only being fourth into the ring.
That was almost a second clear of Tyrone pilot Niamh McEvoy, who joined forces with the Irish Sport Horse Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick. They had followed the winners into the fray and produced a round that beat of all other comers.
Daniel Coyle, from Derry, was another second back on Lena VDL, to complete a podium with a distinctly green hue.
In the afternoon’s five-star speed class, the Minerva Stakes by LHK Insurance, O'Connor bagged a podium finish when claiming third on Fox Chapel.
A total of 39 combinations had a tilt at the afternoon 1.45m speed class, with victory going to Emilie Conter and Ocean Quality, with Julien Gonin and Estrella de la Batia in second.
O'Connor and Fox Chapel were safe and fast for third, while Pender made it into the top five in fifth on Irish Sport Horse HHS Cornetta, who like HHS Los Angeles, was bred in Kilkenny by Marion Hughes.
Meanwhile, a quartet of Kenny with VDL Cartello, Denis Lynch with Vistogrand, Mark McAuley with GRS Lady Amaro and O’Connor with Fancy De Kergane will enter the fray in Friday's Aga Khan Trophy, bidding to go one better than last year, when they finished runner-up to a perfect Swiss performance.
Follow the RTÉ Sport WhatsApp channel for the best news, interviews, analysis and features, as well as details of our sports coverage across all RTÉ platforms.
