Ireland's Mikey Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux have claimed victory in the Defender Puissance for the third time, sharing the €30,000 prize pot with British rider Joe Trunkfield and Cruze in the RDS this evening.
Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux previously triumphed in the Puissance in 2018 and 2022 - the former in a four-way tie, the latter outright - with the Kildare rider revealing afterwards that he was retiring the 17-year-old from competitive fare, providing his venerable ally with a fitting conclusion to a stellar career.
Commandant Geoff Curran might have been expected to feature over the famous wall, having won the Puissance with Bishops Quarter (ISH) 12 months ago but that pair's bid for a two-in-row ended in the first jump-off round.
While the wall claimed no victims in the opening round, two of the lesser obstacles did and one by one the numbers fell until there were just two remaining.
Pender and Trunkfield had the option of choosing to share the spoils after clearing the 2.15m wall at the fourth jump-off round but opted to continue providing the enraptured spectators with a show.
The extra 5cm proved too much for Hearton du Bois Halleux and Cruze to clear and the Irish and British combos duly shared the victory.
Mikey Pender and Joe Trunkfield shared the glory at the Puissance after clearing the 2.15m wall in the fourth jump-off round #DublinHorseShow2024 pic.twitter.com/wnD9HUS0ZV
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 17, 2024
"He was amazing as always," said an emotional Pender. "For that horse to win the Puissance here three times and to win the Derby in Hickstead, it’s a very special horse. I think he gave everything this evening again so I think it’s a good moment for him to go to the field and enjoy himself after everything he’s done.
"He means everything. This is a fantastic competition and an amazing crowd and the horse is an expert at it and he makes my life easier. I’m very lucky and a big thanks to everybody.
"He’s 17. He’s not getting any younger but he’s very healthy and I wanted to retire him when he was still healthy and very able."
While he was unable to defend his Puissance crown, Curran had already secured five-star honours however, leading home an Irish 1-2 in the Royal Dublin Society Stakes, joining forces with Irish Sport Horse DHF Alliance to see off Daniel Coyle and Lena VDL.
Curran and his mare Alliance navigated the 14 jumping efforts clear in a pacy 57.49 seconds, just under a half-second quicker than Coyle and Lena.
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