THE Longines Global Champions Tour of Berlin came to an exciting finish as two Irish riders Denis Lynch and Darragh Kenny battled it out in for the honours in the Berlin finale.
It was an exhilarating climax to three days of world-class sport as last to go, Denis Lynch and the lovely stallion Cristello to a blistering victory to claim the victory in the 1.50m DKB Championship competition. It was a nail-biting finish as Lynch clinched the victory by half a second from Darragh Kenny and Vinci de Beaufour.
Third place in the high-octane jump-off went to home rider Katrin Eckermann and Cala Mandia with the pair putting in an impressive performance on the day.
A delighted Lynch praised his horse afterwards, saying: “The horse has been in great form recently. To win here on Sunday is really great and I am delighted with him. It is a great class to win, Cristello is very impulsive, a real fighter and trier so we work well together.”
A total of 32 combinations lined out and from those, 10 clear rounds were delivered. First to return to the ring was Marcus Ehning and A la Carte NRW who set the pace when delivering a clear in 38.46 seconds. However, this lead held only temporarily as Darragh Kenny and Vinci de Beaufour stormed around in 36.99 seconds.
Determined pace
Germany’s Katrin Eckermann responded and delivered a very fast round aboard Cala Mandia, recording 38.11 seconds on the clock and clinching third place overall.
All eyes were on last to go, Denis Lynch and the Onyx Consulting-owned Cristello. Setting off in a determined pace, the duo shaved milliseconds off the time, flying towards the last to stop the clock in 36.47, taking the win to a roar of appreciation from the crowd.
In the earlier 1.45m, Lynch took the runner-up spot, when he delivered a clear with GC Chopins Bushi, in 58.40. The Tipperary man was beaten to the win by Egypt’s Nayel Nassar and Oaks Redwood, when they clocked 57.66.
On Thursday, Darragh Kenny led the lap of victory in the CSIYH1* 1.35m, when clear with the Irish Sport Horse Rockwell RC in 65.70 seconds. The Kannan gelding was bred by Ronan Byrne. Further down the line was Eoin McMahon and Montiego Bay, who was last of the clears in 70 seconds.
Later in the day, Denis Lynch took third place in the eight-year-old qualifier with Inventa D’Or, when he came home with nothing to add in 64 seconds.
Michael G. Duffy was also in the line-up, taking fifth with Clitschko 17, clear in 71.18, while in sixth place was Mikey Pender and Namdo Quality, clear in 71.18. Taking eighth place was Mark McAuley and Diango STE Hermelle, who finished on a single time fault.
On Friday, Lynch and Inventa D’Or, took fourth in the second qualifier, delivering a clear in 60.32. Mark McAuley was also in the winnings, taking third place with Engerupgaards Cezanne in the 1.45m CSI5*, when they crossed the line clear in 25.26, less than a second off the winner, Nayel Nassar and Coronado, in 24.91.
In the first round of the Global Champions League, Mikey Pender and HHS Forward put in a fantastic round to finish in third place when clear in 67.24 and took home over €8,000 for his efforts.
One place behind was Darragh Kenny and Vinci De Beaufour, who were fractions slower in 67.29.