IT was an all-Irish podium in Sunday’s West Canadian Cup speed class at the five-star fixture at Spruce Meadows in Canada - in fact, six of the top eight were Irish men.

Derry’s Jordan Coyle won the class with For Gold, when they jumped clear with a very fast round, stopping the clock in 81.56 seconds. His brother Daniel had to settle for second place with Farrel, just over a second and a half behind in 83.08, while Down’s Conor Swail and One Edition were third in 85.75. Offaly’s Darragh Kenny took fourth place with Lightning (86.82), with James Chawke on Daido Van’T Ruytershof Z in sixth (87.94) and Swail also placing eighth on board Qoreen Van’T Ruytershof.

As if to stamp their authority on the show, the Irish, while just missing out on the top spot, also claimed second, third and fourth places in Sunday’s $500,000 AON Grand Prix, presented by Rolex. The win went to Matthew Sampson (GBR) on the grey stallion Daniel, who were double clear and stopped the jump-off clock in 43.72, with Daniel Coyle finishing as runner-up on board Incredible (43.86), just ahead of Jordan on Chaccolino in third (44.26) and Kenny on Diaroubet in fourth. They were the only four of the 24 starters who jumped clear in round one to make it through to the jump-off.

Podium finishes

Competition kicked off at Spruce Meadows on Thursday and Daniel Coyle got off the mark with a podium finish in the 1.40m Friends of the Meadows Jumper class, when third with Daydream, jumping clear in 59.46. Will Simpson (USA) and Chacco Blue Star won this class with a clear round in 54.77.

Meanwhile, Kenny placed eighth in the 1.50m Mission Impossible speed class on board Zero K, jumping clear in a time of 69.20. This class was also won by an on-form Will Simpson (USA) on Chacco P who stopped the clock in 57.88. David O’Brien placed 10th with Birkegaardens Malibu DWB in the 1.45m speed class.

Kenny started Friday with an eighth place in the 1.40m Equus Cup jump-off class riding Eddy Blue. The pair incurred five faults in round one, which only produced four clear rounds, with just three managing to jump double clear. The best of these was New Zealand’s Katie Laurie on board Olyda VD Bisschop.

The 1.45m Trimac jump-off class saw two Irish men in the top 10, with Swail riding Clique into sixth place, ahead of Daniel Coyle on Daydream in ninth.

The highlight of the day was the 1.55m Canadian Utilities Cup jump-off class and the Irish showed their talent with a one-two - Kenny finishing first on Zero K (40.72), followed very closely by Jordan Coyle in second on Jorisca, just six-hundredths of a second behind in 40.78. Swail finished not far behind in fifth with the nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse stallion Clonterm Obolensky (Cornet Obolensky (BWP) x She Has The Lux (ISH) by Lux Z (HANN)), bred by Brian Duff in Co Meath (43.45).

On Saturday, O’Brien rode Birkegaardens Malibu DWB into fourth place in the 1.45m Friends of the Meadows jump-off class, while Kenny and Eddy Blue placed 10th in the 1.40m Halo Holdings jump-off class.

Winning ways

The 1.50m Friends of the Meadows Cup jump-off class on Saturday saw two more Irish podium finishes, when Jordan Coyle was the clear winner with For Gold in a fast jump-off time of 38.64, with Swail finishing third on Qoreen Van’T Ruytershof (40.81). The Irish men were separated by Mexico’s Patricio Pasquel on Gazelle SM, who stopped the clock in 40.75 - more than two seconds behind Coyle. Daniel Coyle and Farrel placed seventh in the class.

Daniel Coyle took his turn to top the podium in Sunday’s 1.45m Coril Holdings two-star Grand Prix when winning the class on board Daydream with a jump-off time of 45.50, while James Brennan and Scendrio took the runner-up position in the 1.30m Friends of the Meadows jump-off class with a double clear and a jump-off time of 37.56 - within 0.6 seconds of the Canadian winner Shaelynn Enders on Lady Jubilee (36.98).

Paul O’Shea rode Escola Du Golfe into 10th place in the day’s 1.40m Halo Holdings jump-off class.