CORK’S Shane Sweetnam was the best-placed Irish rider in the three-star Grand Prix in Central Park, New York last Friday night, finishing in third place overall with Chaqui Z, while Conor Swail also finished fifth with Simba De La Roque.

Set against the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, the Wollman ice rink was turned into a jumping arena for the second running of the Central Park Horse Show.

The list of celebrity spectators included former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose daughter Georgina was defending the Rolex title she won in 2014. Other leading names from business and society included US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Bill Gates whose daughter Jennifer had earlier in the evening won the junior amateur class.

Victory in the $212,000 Rolex Grand Prix went to former RDS puissance winner, Colombia’s Daniel Bluman riding Conconcreto Believe, who came out on top after a two-horse jump-off.

Bluman was joined by New Zealander Sharn Wordley and Barnetta in a battle for the winners prize, with Bluman taking the trophy by just over two seconds.

Sweetnam had agonizingly missed out on a place in the jump-off after he picked up just a single time-fault in the opening round with Spy Coast Farm’s nine year-old stallion Chaqui Z.

American rider Candice King finished on the same score with Kismet 50 but the Irish rider’s slightly faster time saw him take third place at the finish.

Sweetnam said afterwards: “The atmosphere was great last year but I think it was even better this year. I’m delighted with my horse. The time fault was my fault and the course jumped world-class.”

Swail came home with one fence on the floor with Susan Grange’s Simba De La Roque, a fast time of 78.73 saw them finish fifth, while Co Clare’s David Blake also completed the first round with just a single mistake aboard Binkie to take 12th place overall.

Swail kicked of the Irish challenge at Central Park with a win in the opening $40,000 Canadian Pacific Railway speed class last Thursday. He entered the ring as 14th to jump with Simba De la Roqueand the nine-year-old Selle Francais gelding, who is by Kannan out of an Allegreto dam, left all the rails intact, recording a winning time of 57.36 for owners Susan and Ariel Grange.