IT was a successful weekend for the Irish at Sentower Park, particularly for Wexford’s Harry Allen, who secured a double of three-star wins with Kazelli VDL.
Allen started well with a win in Thursday’s three-star 1.45m class on the nine-year-old grey mare, Kazelli VDL (Arezzo VDL/Indoctro), when the pair jumped clear in a time of 62.90 seconds to come out best of the 42 on the start list. Belgian riders Niels Fockaert on Chacco Me Biolley and Michael Vreys on Chica Bomb Van Plockroy Z securing second and third places respectively.
Allen and Kazelli VDL showed great consistency when they were back on top of the podium on Sunday, winning the three-star 1.45m Two-Phase Special class. From 49 starters, 29 managed to jump clear in the first phase; 23 of these kept a clean slate, so time was of the essence. Allen clocked the fastest time of 27.06 seconds in the second phase to take the win, ahead of runner-up Kersten (NED) on Jacquard in 28.02.
In a strong display of Irish talent, Jeremy Sweetnam rode Chuflay into third (28.20) and Michael G Duffy rode Fairplay des Forets into fifth (28.54) place in the class to take home a share of the prize money.
In the ribbons
Competition got underway at Sentower Park last Thursday and saw Christopher Megahey on Fuhrer de Maugre place eighth in the three-star 1.35m Two-Phase Special class, which had 31 participants.
On Friday, Irish man Nano Healy was on form in the three-star 1.40m Two-Phase Special class, when he placed fifth with Jopie Amazing JR and sixth with Infinity Van Hof Ter Bolle.
Allen was back in the line up on Friday, when he and Calculatus placed fourth in the large three-star 1.50m class of 84. Thirteen combinations jumped clear in the first round to make it through to the jump-off, with 10 managing to repeat their clear rounds second time round. Allen’s time of 39.37 was just less than a second and a half off the pace of Belgian class winner Rik Hemeryck on Navarro van het Eelshof, who stopped the clock in 37.90.
Irish riders were prominent in the one-star Young Horse Seven and Eight-year-old 1.30m/1.35m class, when Michael G Duffy on Tornado Flip de l’Amitie Z were runners-up in 62.66 seconds and Jeremy Sweetnam on Sir Dalton were third in 64.08, behind British winner Millie Allen on Quick Diamant HR whose time of 59.85 seconds could not be beaten. Healy rode Kung FU into seventh place in the one-star 1.30m class of 74 starters.
Saturday saw Megahey on Casian S place sixth in the one-star 1.30m Two-Phase Special class, while Sweetnam on Chuflay placed eighth in the three-star 1.40m Two-Phase Special class. Meanwhile, Healy was runner-up in the three-star 1.35m Two-Phase Special riding Quel Vedet van de Grenshoeve with a jump-off time of 31.89 seconds. Belgian winner Vreys on Heideroosje Van Plockroy Z was over two seconds faster (29.78), but these two were well ahead of the third-placed rider, Lars Kersten (NED) on Hollywood V who finished in 37.52 seconds.
On Sunday, Michael Duffy on Dublin placed seventh in a three-star 1.45m Two-Phase Special class from a start list of 51, the Irish rider went on to take the runner-up spot in the one-star Young Horse Five and Six-year-old 1.15m/1.25m class on board the six-year-old mare, Kimberley FZ. The pair finished in a time of 39.92 seconds and just couldn’t catch the winner, Alexander Housen (BEL) on Kazandor Hero Z (38.37).