RELAND’S Ciaran Nallon was in impeccable form at the five-star Longines Global Champions Tour fixture at St Tropez in France last week, which ran from Thursday until Saturday.

Nallon partnered the nine-year-old gelding Megalon K to win Friday’s 1.50m Prix PremiuMares jump-off class. The starting field of 43 produced 16 first-round clears, with eight combinations keeping all the jumps standing after round two. Germany’s Katrin Eckermann had set the time to beat at 34.90 seconds, after a determined round with a breathtaking turnback. Nallon was in next. He and his equine partner gave it their all and they stopped the clock in 34.77 to claim the win.

Denis Lynch on Chicago and Michael Pender on HHS Cyprus both made it through to the jump-off, but each picked up four faults to place 13th and 15th respectively.

Afterwards, Nallon said: “If I hadn’t been watching Katrin’s round, I don’t think I’d have taken the risk! I’m super proud of our [gelding], [he] tried [his] heart out and, with the whistles from hospitality, I knew I was in with a chance as I galloped to the last.

“Taking the win yesterday, and again today… I think under the south of France sun might just be our lucky charm.”

Teamwork

The first round of the five-star Global Champions League team competition, a 1.60m speed class, on Thursday saw Ireland’s Ciaran Nallon finish in the runner-up berth on board the 10-year-old mare Casalla Blue PS, when they jumped a clear round in a time of 63.91 seconds. Of the 34 starters, 10 kept all the poles intact with Nallon only beaten by Max Kuhner (AUT) riding the 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding EIC Up Too Jacco Blue, bred by Mark Sherry, who stopped the clock in a very fast 59.22. Denis Lynch rode Conterno-Blue PS into seventh place in 66.02.

Nallon’s Riesenbeck International team mate, Christian Kukuk on Checker 47 picked up eight faults in round one, but they still sat in fourth place after round one.

The second round, a 1.55m speed class, saw Nallon and his mount complete another fault-free round, this time clocking 67.09, which placed them sixth individually. Kukuk recorded the winning time of 64.04 second time out, which complemented Nallon’s double clear to put them in first place at the finish. Riesenbeck International now lie second in the current overall standings on 101 points. Prague Lions are in the lead following round six on a score of 114, with nine rounds still to go.

On Friday, Lynch rode Chicago into eighth place in the five-star 1.45m Prix Barons de Rothschild two-phase class, when double clear in a second phase time of 25.53. Nineteen of the 35 starters jumped clear first time out, with 17 of them jumping a second time, resulting in nine double clears.

Grand Prix

Forty combinations lined up for Saturday’s €500,000 1.60m Longines GCT Grand Prix of Ramatuelle, St Tropez, but such was the difficulty of Uliano Vezzani’s course that only two managed to jump clear - both of them being under 25s.

Monaco’s Anastasia Nielsen rode the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding ESI Rocky (Stakkato Gold x Clonaslea by For Pleasure), bred by Andrew and Niall Hughes at Ennisnag Stud and produced by Seamus Hughes Kennedy, to the only double clear of the class in a time of 43.55 to take a well-deserved win and the €165,000 top prize. Thibeau Spits (BEL) and Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z gave it a good shot, but picked up four faults second time out and had to settle for the runner-up prize of €100,000. Just to reinforce the strength of Irish Sport Horses, Max Kuhner (AUT) completed the podium in third on EIC Up Too Jacco Blue. Pender placed 10th in the class on board HHS Cyprus, which moves him to fourth place in the overall individual standings, with Cian O’Connor currently sitting 10th.

Nielsen said afterwards: “I honestly have no words. I'm so happy. I was so grateful for jumping clear in the first round - it was a tough track. I haven't jumped that many five-star classes with Rocky, but he's an unbelievable fighter and he just tries everything to make everything possible. It's amazing.”