CIAN O’Connor brought the Northern Indoor Championships to an exciting conclusion last Sunday when he delivered a show performance which saw him take the honours in the latest round of the Gain/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix series.

Riding the In Showjumpers-owned CoCo 11, the Olympic bronze medalist took the lion’s share of the €5,000 on offer in the Eglinton Equestrian Club-sponsored class.

This was the second Grand Prix win for O’Connor at the northern venue having won it in 2012 aboard Ulano.

By La Poco and out of Championess, the 10-year-old grey gelding CoCo 11 has been a consistent performer for O’Connor since taking over the ride earlier in the summer. In a short time the pairing have delivered some impressive results, which included a win in the CSI** at Opglabbeek in Belgium, a third place finish in the five -star show in Chantilly in July and third in the speed stakes in Dublin.

Prior to this, the gelding was campaigned by German ace Marco Kutscher. O’Connor has recently sold CoCo 11 to his student Emily Shortt, who competed last month in Cavan Indoor Championships with the gelding.

Overall it was a good day for O’Connor and his team, with his rider Ross Mulholland slotting into third place, ahead of his student Lillie Keenan, who filled fourth place.

Speaking after the win, O’Connor said: “Team Karlswood had a great outing in Eglinton. CoCo, who I recently sold to a student of mine Emily Shortt, jumped super. I actually hadn’t sat on him since Dublin Horse Show but he’s so experienced which makes it a bit easier. I saw Cormac Hanley go in the jump-off and I thought he couldn’t be caught as he had really a fantastic round. An ambitious turn to the last that came off probably won it for me. Ross is doing a super job with Ahmed producing another consistent performance to place third and Lillie Keenan, who trains with us, jumped two super rounds to finish fourth. The arena is tight in Eglinton but it’s good practice for horse and rider - if you can do well there you are ready for indoors!”

Course designer Ian Clarke built a fair track for the 29 starters. The large crowd of spectators didn’t have to wait long for the first clear as local rider Jordan Coyle and Urban Cowboy answered all the questions. Following this, a further 11 combinations proceeded to the jump-off.

A tight arena, Clarke’s course entailed a series of tight lines from the off. Those who had their eye on the win needed to take the tight line from one to two. Towards the end a sharp turn from the oxer to the final double was required to be in contention.

JUMP-OFF

Double handed in the jump-off, O’Connor got his first look at the track with Quick Shine. The Meath rider proved out of luck on this occasion when faulting at the second vertical.

Lillie Keenan got the ball rolling for Karlswood Stables as she delivered the first double clear with Super Sox in 42.00 seconds to take the lead.Despite a great round, Keenan’s lead was short lived as Ross Mulholland blistering round with Adena Springs Ahmed du Calvaire saw him reduce the target to 39.80.

Following a great year on the international circuit, Cormac Hanley experience was evident as he shaved off over four seconds from Mulholland’s time with Captain Caruso in 35.36, to put him in the lead.

All eyes were on James Hogg as he took it on with his father Edgar’s Always On My Mind. Hogg took all the necessary tight lines but four faults at the penultimate fence saw his hopes of a win fade on this occasion. A fast time of 37.83 however would later prove good enough for eventual sixth.

Next to go, O’Connor knew what was required to overtake Hanley. Setting off in a calculated pace with CoCo 11, he made negotiated a series of tight turns throughout the course. A extremely tight line to the double saw him get the upper hand and a clear in 34.51 seconds proved good enough to clinch the win and in the process demote Hanley into the runner-up slot.

Currently lying in pole position on the leaderboard, John Floody was keen to add to points to his tally. Setting off strong with the big striding Mise Le Meas, Floody was up on O’Connor’s time but four faults at the penultimate fence in 34.38 meant that he had to settle for fifth place. An extra three points however is enough to cement Floody’s lead going into the next round at Cavan.