FRANCIS Derwin Jnr and Deep Pockets dominated in the Gain Equine Nutrition/Alltech Ireland 1.40m National Grand Prix round hosted at Mullingar Equestrian Centre.

Speaking after the victory, Frano Derwin said: “It was a tough enough class. There was a large field of starters and just five were clear, the time was tight and it caught out a lot of people.

“Deep Pockets felt brilliant today. He jumped really well in both rounds. I was second last to go, I had seen Kevin’s (Gallagher) round and I knew he was fast, and that Emma (McEntee) coming after me would be quick too, so I had to be as fast as I could and still leave the jumps up.

“I got a nice stride to the first fence and that helped my round. It was very smooth and the horse rode very easy. He is very good at the turn-backs so that suited him very well today.

“I’ve had a great season with this horse; this is his third National Grand Prix win, he won in Portmore and Cork.

“I’m very grateful to have such a strong team behind me; my Dad, who brings me round to all these shows, and my uncle Jim who owns the horse.”

Testing course

A large field of 84 combinations featured for the Grand Prix which was the 16th round of the league. Just five riders answered all the questions posed by Wade in the first round correctly to gain passage in the decider.

Five riders earned themselves one fault for exceeding the time allowed, while a further two collected two time faults. Five combinations had a single fence down, six had a fence down plus one for time to finish on six faults. Thirteen had two on the ground for eight faults and the remaining competitors notched up nine faults or more.

First to go in the jump-off was Adam Carey and the German-bred mare Quinn Z. A decent round came undone when they hit the final fence to finish with four to add in 39.79 for fifth place.

Darragh Ryan was next with Vivienne Digby’s Thebestof Dancer, an 11-year-old mare by Quidam M out of Madame Papillon by Cavalier Royale. They managed to leave all the fences up in a cautious time of 38.64 for fourth place.

Kevin Gallagher was third to have a try aboard the German-bred eight-year-old Clarke. They produced a second clear round in a time of 37.52 to go into the lead.

Gallagher’s time at the top was short lived however, as next in was Derwin with Deep Pockets. The duo were foot-perfect for a second time and stopped the clock in a very quick 34.56 to head proceedings.

Emma McEntee was last to go with Miguel Bravo’s MHS New York (Quidam Junior - Cavalier Royale) and despite a great effort, they had the final fence down for four in 35.14 which left them in fourth place. Sixth was Brendan Murphy with City as the fastest single-faulter in round one.