CAVAN’S Neal Fearon continued his good form in the Middle East, when he secured a podium finish in Friday’s five-star 1.55m jump-off class in Doha, Qatar, riding the 11-year-old mare Derryglen Obsidian, owned by Deirdre Reilly. There were 28 starters in the class, of whom 10 jumped clear in round one to book their place in the jump-off, where six completed double clear rounds.
Fearon’s jump-off time of 42.56 seconds was good enough to earn him third place, behind Austrian winner Max Kuhner on EIC Quantum Robin V (41.42) and second-placed Janne F Meyer-Zimmermann (GER) on Cellagon Cascais (41.53).
Placings
Week two of the HH The Father Amir’s Prix 2026 at Al Shaqab in Doha took place from Thursday, January 8th until Saturday, January 10th, with Ireland being represented by Fearon and Reilly, along with a number of Irish Sport Horses.
On Friday, the 31-strong five-star 1.45m speed class saw the 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Wathnan Quality Street (OBOS Quality 004 x Coirban Lady Lux by Lux Z), bred by Ciara Marron, finish fourth under Faleh Suwead Al Ajami (QAT) with a clear round in 61.41. The class was won by Britain’s Millie Allen on Quick Diamant HR in a speedy 59.58. Harry Charles placed eighth in the class on another Irish Sport Horse, 11-year-old stallion Bandit (OBOS Quality 004 x Cruisings Micky Finn).
The five-star 1.50m Six Bar class saw EIC Cooley Jump The Q (ISH) place fourth under Max Kuhner (AUT), with BP Pocahontas (ISH) slotting into seventh place under Oliver Fletcher (GBR).
On Saturday, Bandit (ISH) claimed the top spot in the five-star 1.50m Special Two-phase class from a start list of 22, with Harry Charles (GBR) in the saddle, while Wathnan Quality Street placed fifth for Faleh Suwead Al Ajami (QAT).
The five-star 1.60m Grand Prix later in the day saw two Irish Sport Horses in the top five, with Maxwin Kinmar Bespoke (ISH) (O-piloth x Absolutely Kingmar Z by Aganix Du Seigneur), bred by Gerrard Marron in Co Monaghan, and Janakabhorn Karunayadhaj (THA) finishing fourth, closely followed by ESI Rocky (ISH) (Stakkato Gold x Clonaslea by For Pleasure), bred by Ennisnag Stud in Kilkenny, and Anastasia Nielsen (MON) in fifth. The class was won by Scott Brash (GBR) riding Hello Jefferson.
Abu Dhabi
Meanwhile, at the UAE President’s Cup show in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the five-star 1.45m two-phase class saw three Irish riders finishing in the top 10. Best of these was Tipperary’s Trevor Breen, who rode Kannoon Blue into fifth place out of 43 starters, when double clear in a second phase time of 23.55. He was closely followed by his brother Shane, who placed sixth on board BP Arctic Blue (24.00), while Derry’s David Simpson and Billy Fern finished joint ninth in 24.43. Syria’s Shady Ghrayeb and Cabernet de Mars won the class in 21.45.
Shane Breen and BP Arctic Blue went on to place fifth in the 36-strong 1.50m two-phase Grand Prix qualifier, when they jumped double clear in a phase two time of 27.20. German winner Sophie Hinners on Iron Dames Kaleni Jo clocked the fastest time of 25.98.
In Saturday’s two-star 1.35m two-phase class, CSF Thomascourt Zena (ISH), bred by Patrick Connolly, was ridden into fourth place by Alexander McLean (GBR) with a double clear round in a time of 22.13.
Simpson then placed fourth in the five-star 1.50m two-phase class riding Pjotr van de Kruishoeve to a double clear round in 32.69. Alexander McLean (GBR) won the class with Calixte Heartbreaker Z (32.08).
On Sunday, Shane Breen on Market M’Dam placed sixth in the two-star 1.45m Grand Prix when double clear in 38.10. Belgium’s Abdel Said rode Max to win the class in 32.76, while in the five-star 1.50m Winning Round class, Simpson and Billy Fern finished eighth.