TIPPERARY’S Denis Lynch was in fine form in France on Saturday evening, when he and the 17-year-old stallion Cordial were runners-up in the five-star €300,000 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Paris.
Forty combinations took on the demanding first-round track, with only six of them making it to the finish without fault to proceed to the jump-off. The shortened course claimed another two faulters, as four combinations completed double clear rounds. Lynch and his mount were among them and their time of 39.89 could only be bettered by Austria’s Max Kuhner, with the consolation being that he was on board the 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding EIC Up Too Jacco Blue (Chacco Blue x Celestial Up Too by ARD VDL Douglas), bred by Mark Sherry in Co Wicklow. Kuhner stopped the clock in 38.36 to take home the top prize of €101,838, with Lynch pocketing €61,720 for second place. The podium was completed by Olivier Perreau (FRA) on GL Events Dorai d’Aiguilly in 39.99 for a prize of €46,290.
Following another win with his Irish-bred horse, Kuhner said: “The main difference was the horse. He’s a naturally fast horse, so I just needed to use this flow and then I knew we would be quite quick.”
Lynch now sits 16th in the overall Longines Global Champions Tour standings on 76.5 points, with Michael Pender in seventh on 109 and O’Connor in eighth on 105. Abdel Said (BEL) is in the lead at this stage on 140, with Kuhner in the runner-up spot on 135, with eight legs remaining.
Spectacular
The Longines Global Champions Tour of Paris ran at the Champ de Mars arena with the spectacular backdrop of the Eiffel Tower over the weekend, with top-class show jumping from Friday until Sunday.
Five-star action kicked off with the 1.60m individual speed class on Friday afternoon, which saw Ireland’s Susan Fitzpatrick on Lovely Stassi PS finish sixth of the 22 starters, when jumping clear but picking up a single time penalty. It was home win for French man Julien Epaillard on Le Coultre de Muze with the fastest clear round in 63.57.
The first team competition, a 1.60m speed class, saw Riyadh Knights in third place, with Cian O’Connor on Kentucky TN picking up one for time and his team mate Olivier Perreau on GL Events Dorai D’Aiguilly jumping clear.
Riyadh Knights maintained their position after the second team competition, a 1.55m speed class, with O’Connor riding a second mount, Gospel Tame to a clear round and Perreau picking up four faults on board Himalaya Du Temple for a final team score of five. Riesenbeck International took the top spot on a zero score, followed by Cannes Star in second on four faults.
O’Connor’s clear round in 72.28 with Gospel Tame secured them fourth place individually, with Sweden’s Peder Fredricson taking first place with Alcapone des Carmille, when stopping the clock in 70.60.
“We're really happy,” O’Connor commented afterwards. “The horses jumped great and Olivier rode really well too. My horse was fantastic in the first round and Gospel had to shorten up a bit for the second round because the time was tight, but he handled that really well. To be on the podium and get Riyadh Knights up there, we're certainly very happy.
“It's important to make a plan, but there are so many good combinations and so much competition. We came here wanting to go well this week, so it was great when it worked out. To come away with a podium and some strong championship points is very positive for the team.”
Riesenbeck International lead the overall standings on 131 points, with Prague Lions in second on 119 and Cannes Stars in third on 117.
On Saturday, Fitzpatrick and Hector de Kezeg placed 10th in the 1.45m two-phase class from a start list of 46, with 35 combinations proceeding to the second phase and 18 producing double clear rounds.