FRANCE’S Mathieu Billot and the Dutch-bred gelding Dassler were the winners of Saturday evening’s Land Rover Puissance. The only combination to clear the big wall at 2.15m, they secured the lion’s share of the €30,000 prize fund.

Irish hopes were high heading into the class. Mikey Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux had cleared 2.20m at the RDS in 2018 and had matched that height in Bolesworth earlier this summer. After winning the Hickstead Derby in June, he started the class as favourite and was hoping to set a new Dublin record, but was knocked out when he hit the wall at 2.15m in round three.

Eleven riders lined out for the class and just one, Switzerland’s Barbara Schnieper, failed to clear the first round with the wall standing at 1.80m. In round two, with the wall at 2m, a further four – Spain’s Paola Amilbia (Cycloon W), Captain Geoff Curran (Bishops Qarter), Michael Whyte (Amaretto) and Ryan Wesley (Larthago) – failed to progress.

Half a dozen of the original start list made it through to the third round with the wall at 2.15m. Belgian Louis Delforche’s mount Gladstone felt he had enough at that stage and refused to jump the wall on two attempts.

Next in was Billot and his mount Dassler. They cleared the wall with apparent ease and left it up to the remaining four. Richard Howley and Notis Me nudged the top block off the wall to see them out of the class. Nano Healy and KMS Clintland suffered the same fate.

Germany’s Alexander Kisselbach (Gannan) had looked confident at 2m but they too hit the wall. Last to go was Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux. Considering this pair’s record it seemed that this round was just a formality for them, but a decent approach was followed by the surprise when the pair hit the top blocks and handed the victory to Billot as the only clear round from round three.