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USA edge out Ireland to lift Aga Khan Trophy at RDS

Updated / Friday, 16 Aug 2024 21:48
Mclain Ward and Callas starred for the USA at the RDS
Mclain Ward and Callas starred for the USA at the RDS

The USA landed the prestigious Aga Khan Trophy at the the Dublin Horse Show as the home team filled the runner-up berth in the Nations Cup of Ireland for a second consecutive year.

Each of the first six combinations jumped clear in a high-class field, including Offaly's Darragh Kenny on the 17-year-old grey stallion VDL Cartello.

Louth's Mark McAuley and GRS Lady Amaro then delivered another perfect clear for Ireland and that was followed by another flawless performance from Tipperary's Denis Lynch and Vistogrand.

Cian O'Connor and Fancy De Kergane finished with one fence down and a time fault, but with three first-round clears already on the board, that score was discarded and Ireland remained on zero.

Michael Blake's shared the lead with the USA at the halfway stage and they both had a two-fence advantage over Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Kenny and VDL Cartello had one fence down for Ireland at the start of the second round and the advantage tipped in USA's favour when Spenser Smith completed a double-clear performance with Keeneland.

McAuley and GRS Lady Amaro were clear until the last line, but the last two fences fell to leave them on eight faults.

Lynch and Vistogrand came home with one fence down second time out and that left Ireland tied with Belgium and Switzerland on eight faults heading into the last line riders, while USA held the lead on four faults.

O'Connor put the pressure back on the USA when he delivered a vital clear as last to go with Fancy De Kergane.

That meant USA's final rider McLain Ward needed to jump clear for victory, with Ward showing all of his experience to produce a flawless round to give the Americans an eighth win in the competition on a final score of four faults.

Ireland finished on eight faults, while Britain fought back in the second round to take third place on 12 faults.

"We were a little out of luck today," Ireland's Chef d’Equipe Blake said afterwards.

"I’m so proud of our lads, though. After a long year they’ve done a great job. If things had been just a little different we’d have won, but we were very close.

"We’ve gone to America twice and beaten them on their home soil and I suppose they’ve paid us back now.

"Darragh barely nudged his fence and it came down and Mark’s first one was a very late fall, with the crowd then getting after him a little bit before his second.

"Denis was the unluckiest ride of the day – I don’t know how his pole came down – but congratulations to the United States on a well-deserved win.

"I really feel for Denis, because he rode so well. Vistogrand has developed and developed and he deserved to be double-clear today."

Irish riders dominated the earlier international seven- and eight-year-old competition, which was won by Limerick's Kian Dore with the gelding Helssinki.

Home riders filled the top four places, with Cork's Shane Dalton taking runner-up spot with Mendoza VDL.

Down's Dermott Lennon and Kinmar Right On Time finished third ahead of Cian O'Connor in fourth with Maple Leaf.

The Dublin Horse Show continues over the weekend with the Defender Puissance the feature on Saturday as horses and riders jump the big red wall.

Sunday's feature is the Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland, which offers a lucrative prize fund of €500,000.

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