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Mikey Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux win Land Rover Puissance

Mikey Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux win the Land Rover Puissance. Credit: Laurence Dunne/Jumpinaction. Image provided by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI).

Kildare’s Mikey Pender won the Land Rover Puissance, the highlight of Saturday’s action at the 2022 Dublin Horse Show.

Riding the 15-year-old stallion Hearton Du Bois Halleux, Pender took his fourth five-star win of this year’s Dublin Horse Show.

Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux were the only combination to clear the wall in the fifth round, when it stood at a height of 2m20 (7ft 2 inches).

Daniel Coyle with Just Happy Hero Z and Commandant Geoff Curran with the Irish Sport Horse Bishops Quarter shared second place. Both combinations picked up four faults in the last round of the competition.

Tipperary rider Trevor Breen and Germaine W took the 1m50 Dublin Stakes, going clear in 36.00 seconds in the jump-off.

Mark McAuley and Jasco Vd Bisschop took second place in 36.23 seconds, while third place went to French rider Megane Moissonnier and Bracadabra in 36.35 seconds.

Richard Howley and Chinook won the Royal Dublin Society Stakes. Jordan Coyle and Picador finished as runners-up while third place went to Brazil’s Yuri Mansur and Away Semilly.

“As an Irish rider, it’s something that is a lifetime goal”

Conor Swail, Shane Sweetnam, Cian O'Connor and Max Wachman with The Aga Khan perpetual Trophy. Credit: Breandán Ó hUallacháin.

Ireland’s Aga Khan-winning hero Conor Swail described today’s win – his first in the famous competition – as “fantastic”.

Swail and Count Me In jumped three clear rounds during the competition proper and the jump-off that following to give the home side a first victory in the competition since 2015.

“This is my first time (winning) also like Shane (Sweetnam). This is my third Aga Khan,” Swail explained. “It’s fantastic. As an Irish rider it’s something that is a lifetime goal – thankfully I have achieved that. The horse (Count Me In) has jumped like that all year – it was no surprise whatsoever – he is so fast.”

Ireland team manager Michael Blake quipped “it has not been a bad six days” referring to Friday’s victory and Ireland qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games earlier this week.

The Clare man explained that he was very confident coming into today’s Longines Nations Cup of Ireland:

“Coming here I thought we had a very very good chance – I felt it was ours to lose. We started off really really well and then had a few uncharacteristic mistakes. There was a little pressure on us. Conor (Swail) was just amazing. He asked me could he be on the Aga Khan team earlier in the year.”

Kanturk, Co Cork-native Shane Sweetnam who jumped clear with The Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz in the first round, said:

“He jumped special in the first round, especially when it was raining – he knew he was home! Then in the second round, a little mistake – obviously I made it myself.”

For the US-based rider, it was also a first Aga Khan win:

“It’s great to win. This was my fourth Aga Khan and it has always been a dream to win The Aga Khan, so I’m thrilled, thrilled with the horse and thrilled with my team members.”

It was certainly a dream come true for eighteen-year-old Tipperary rider Max Wachman, winning his first Aga Khan Trophy in his first outing in the Longines Nations Cup of Ireland.

“It’s a dream come true,” Wachman said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was about ten years old. To be on a team with such brilliant riders is amazing. I’m just thrilled. He (Berlux Z) is eleven years old, he’s a very experienced horse and he’s a good horse and he jumped good today.”

Meath’s Cian O’Connor, Ireland’s anchor leg rider yet again, spoke highly during the winners’ press conference about his Irish Sport Horse Kilkenny.

“I was thrilled with him. I couldn’t be happier. It’s like when the bell goes and you head down to the first fence on a big rhythm and it just feels like he owns the ring. All I have to do is not get in his way and not make a mistake. It was really just good fun riding him around there.”

Winning The Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy is always special for all Irish riders. Team manager Michael Blake best summed up what winning the home Nations Cup means in front of the RDS crowd:

“The crowd so understand the sport and it means so much to them, and it means so much to us. We win plenty Nations Cup but this is an extra stratosphere.”

Ireland win The Aga Khan Trophy at the Dublin Horse Show

Conor Swail, Shane Sweetnam, Cian O'Connor and Max Wachman with The Aga Khan perpetual Trophy. Credit: Breandán Ó hUallacháin.

Ireland won the Longines Nation Cup of Ireland for the award of The Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy at the Dublin Horse Show this evening.

The Michael Blake-managed team produced six clear rounds, including three from Conor Swail and Count Me In to lift the famous equestrian cup for the first time since 2015.

In the seven-nation event, Ireland had been drawn sixth to jump, with Swail and Count Me In operating as pathfinders for the side.

In an exciting opening round, Blake’s side produced three clear rounds, from Swail (Count Me In), Shane Sweetnam (James Kann Cruz) and Cian O’Connor (Kilkenny).

The other member of the team, eighteen-year-old Max Wachman riding Berlux Z, had just one fence down in the first round.

Ireland ended the opening round on a zero score, followed by France and Switzerland on four faults each respectively.

Marc Dilasser (Aristo Du Gevres) and Edward Levy (Uno De Cerisy) produced clear rounds for Henk Nooren’s side, while Steve Guerdat (Dynamix De Belheme) and Martin Fuchs (Cardano CH) did likewise for the Swiss.

Netherlands and Belgium were next after round one, each on 12 faults, while USA and Norway (who were competing in The Aga Khan Trophy for the first time) each recorded scores of 20 opening round faults.

Second Round

France began round 2 with three clear rounds and with two of the first three Swiss riders both faulting at the water, France would finish on a worst-possible score of 4 faults.

Count Me In and Conor Swail went clear in round two while Max Wachman had the final part of the treble down.

Just as Cork rider Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz looked to be heading for a double clear round, a pole fell at the last, meaning Ireland would need their anchor leg combination of Cian O’Connor and Kilkenny to go clear in order to force a jump-off with the French.

The Irish combination duly obliged in order to force a jump-off over a shorter course.

Both Ireland and France opted for their original pathfinders, Conor Swail and Marc Dilasser, to contest the jump-off, as both had produced double-clear rounds during the competition.

With Dilasser and Aristo Du Gevres going clear in a time of 31.81 seconds, the pressure was now on the Irish combination, not alone to go clear, but to do so in a faster time.

Swail and Count Me In produced their third clear round of the competition, just as the French combination had moments earlier, but the Irish representatives went clear in a faster time of 30.31 seconds, winning the Longines Nations Cup of Ireland for The Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy for the home nation.

Ciara Mageean wins European 1500m silver medal

Credit: @irishathletics.

Ciara Mageean claimed a silver medal in the 1500 metres final at the European Athletics  Championships in Munich on Friday night.

The Portaferry athlete, who recently took silver in the event at the Commonwealth Games, chased home Laura Muir again on this occasion.

In an exciting final, the Irishwoman took up the early running before Muir took the lead with two laps of the three-and-three-quarter lap contest remaining.

With Scot Muir winning in 4:01.08, 30-year-old Mageean crossed the line in a season’s best time of 4:02.56. Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui took bronze in 4:03.59.

With Regulation On The Horizon, Which Way Will Ireland’s Betting Community Turn?

Gambling regulation has been on the cards since October 2021, and a new Irish Examiner report highlights the fact that the government are now putting applications out to tender. A new gambling regulator will be in place by 2023, with the government providing up to 12 million Euros with the ultimate aim being for the industry to fund its own regulation. With change afoot, it will be interesting to see how the industry adapts – and how gambling trends and choices change across the country.

Everyday slots and casinos

One of the areas targeted by regulation is casinos. There has been an upshot in the problem of ‘problem gamblers’ over the past few years, and this has led to the idea of banning free bets being floated, according to the Irish Times. This cuts out significant predatory marketing, and prevents the soft lure of being pulled in with free bets. Indeed, playing casino games for money is typically associated with a more up-front and easily accountable form of gaming, where the financial risk is expressed clearly at the outset. Regulation in this area may therefore benefit casinos and gamblers more than it affects them, and take good steps in protecting people who may be disadvantaged by free games.

Sports betting and wagers

Sports gambling has of course enjoyed a long history in Ireland and is, for the most part, unproblematic – a fun wager is part of match day for many. However, there are numerous stories of even well-heeled individuals experiencing extreme difficulty due to the pernicious nature of some gambling; Michael Chopra, the former Premier League footballer, is one notable example. As The Irish Mirror highlights, over £2 million of his wealth was sunk into gambling debt. Escalatory free bets aside, changes have been mooted within Irish sport to reduce the visibility of gambling, for instance through removing sponsors from football team shirts and stadiums. Time will tell if it can be as effective.

Tackling the horses

Of all the gambling arenas, horse racing is perhaps the most storied in Irish history. The nation is famous for its breeding of horses, and there’s a huge culture and community built up around that. According to the Irish Times, there have been jitters within the horse betting community over the potential changes to regulation, and this is having a knock-on effect on courses around the country. When paired with incoming changes to regulation for Northern Irish racecourses, which obviously hold a distinct legal status but will have a direct impact on operations south of their border, there may be real change afoot. It’s unlikely that it will be more difficult to bet on horse racing – it’s part and parcel of the country’s history – but it may become harder to fritter away money online.

Watch the industry, then, to see if real change will happen. The new regulators and laws indicate that the Irish government may have some teeth in the gambling industry – but only time will tell.

Irish tennis yet to scratch 40-year itch

With a ball in hand or at feet, Ireland have remained fiercely competitive down the years – with the nation’s men’s rugby team currently occupying the No.1 spot in the official world rankings. On the football scene, European Championships were reached in 2012 and 2016, with the plan being to break a barren run on the World Cup front in 2026.

Medals have been picked up at major competitions on the track, field and in the pool, while an ambitious cricket side has punched above its weight at times and Katie Taylor remains the benchmark for female boxers across the globe.

Elusive

With all of that success taken into account, why has progress in tennis circles proved so elusive? There will once again be no Irish representation in betting on US Open 2022, with Grand Slam events continuing to come and go while barely registering on a collective radar.

While the likes of Novak Djokovic, who sits as the 11/8 favourite to savour more glory in New York, and Rafa Nadal continue to fly the flag for Serbia and Spain respectively, there is one corner of Europe that wonders whether a day in the sun will ever come.

This is nothing new for tennis in Ireland, with the most prominent of racket sports seemingly holding little appeal to those from the Emerald Isle. Maybe the interest is there, with potential just waiting to be unlocked, but lack of access to suitable training and facilities places immovable objects into the path of many an aspiring player.

There have been Irish stars down the years, with a select few managing to make some sort of a living from tennis, but they have tended to be a break from the norm. A quick flick through the history books paints a bleak picture when it comes to those making any kind of impact.

Across the men’s and women’s game, Ireland currently has no player inside the world’s top 600 – singles or doubles – while only one wheelchair athlete breaks into the top 100 across both of those formats.

That comes as no real surprise, as only two performers – one from each gender category – have ever broken into the top 100 throughout the history of the professional era stretching back to 1973. Claire Curran once rose as high as 89 in the doubles game, while Matt Doyle reached the 65th spot in the singles.

Heritage

Doyle was born in the United States, but boasted Irish heritage and competed under the tricolour flag. He made the fourth round of the US Open in 1982 but lost to a certain John McEnroe, before winning his only tour title a year later at the Cologne Grand Prix.

It was at that time that he peaked in the rankings, with all four majors graced between 1982 and 1984. Nobody has scaled such heights since and there is little to suggest that anybody will be doing so again any time soon.

That is a 40-year itch which has gone without scratching, which is a little uncomfortable to say the least. Progress may continue to be made down other avenues, with certain ball sports thriving, but it remains to be seen whether that positivity can be transferred from a pitch onto a court.

Aga Khan Nations Cup Day at the Dublin Horse Show

The Longines Nations Cup of Ireland for the award of the Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy starts at 3pm.

Today is Longines Nations Cup of Ireland day as the home side bids to win the Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy for the first time since 2015.

The Irish team, managed by Clare’s Michael Blake, has been drawn second last to jump in the seven-team competition with round one getting underway at 3pm. The second round will begin at 4.30pm.

USA will be the first team to enter the Main Arena at the RDS, followed by Norway, Brazil, Netherlands, France, Ireland and Switzerland.

Team Ireland will jump in the following order:

Down’s Conor Swail with Count Me In will be the pathfinders for Michael Blake’s side.

Tipperary’s Max Wachman with Coolmore Showjumping’s Berlux Z will be the next Irish combination into the Main Arena.

The penultimate combination will be US-based Corkman Shane Sweetnam with The Irish Sport Horse James Kann Kruz.

Former Olympic medallist, Meath’s Cian O’Connor, will take the anchor leg for Ireland with another Irish Sport Horse, Kilkenny.

Ireland will be among five teams competing for Longines Nations Cup points in the RDS Main Arena tomorrow.

Dublin is also a scoring event for France, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. USA and Brazil will also field a team but will not be eligible for points.

Mikey Pender takes second win at Dublin Horse Show

Mikey Pender and HHS Fortune win The Speed Derby. Credit: Breandán Ó hUallacháin.

The good form of Irish riders and horses continued in the Main Arena on Thursday as Kildare’s Mikey Pender claimed his second success of this year’s show.

Pender, partnering the Marion Hughes-owned and bred mare Irish Sport Horse HHS Fortune, won The Speed Derby for the award of the Paul Darragh Perpetual Memorial Trophy. The winning combination were two second ahead of Tyrone’s Niamh McEvoy with Aconzina PS. Trevor Breen took third spot with Gonzalo in a class where Ireland filled the first five places.

The Anglesea Stakes went to Egyptian Nayel Nassar with Coronado. Ireland’s anchor in Friday’s Longines Nations Cup of Ireland, Cian O’Connor, finished as runner-up with his World Championship mount C Vier 2.

The combination were just over half a second behind the winner in the 14-horse jump-off, where nine of the jump-off combinations were representing Ireland. Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat finished third with Albfuehren’s Maddox.

Tomorrow’s, and the week’s highlight, is the Longines Nations Cup of Ireland for the award of the Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy.

Details on Ireland’s Nations Cup team can be found here.

Ireland drawn second last for Longines Nations Cup of Ireland

The Longines Nations Cup of Ireland for the award of the Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy starts at 3pm.

On Friday, Ireland will bid to win the Longines Nations Cup of Ireland for the award of the Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy for the first time since 2015.

The Irish team, managed by Michael Blake, has been drawn second last to jump in the seven-team competition.

USA will be the first team to enter the Main Arena at the RDS, followed by Norway, Brazil, Netherlands, France, Ireland and Switzerland.

Team Ireland will jump in the following order:

Down’s Conor Swail with Count Me In will be the pathfinders for the home side.

Tipperary’s Max Wachman with Coolmore Showjumping’s Berlux Z will be the next Irish combination into the Main Arena.

The penultimate combination will be US-based Corkman Shane Sweetnam with The Irish Sport Horse James Kann Kruz.

Former Olympic medallist, Meath’s Cian O’Connor, will take the anchor leg for Michael Blake’s team with another Irish Sport Horse, Kilkenny.

Ireland will be among five teams competing for Longines Nations Cup points in the RDS Main Arena tomorrow.

Dublin is also a scoring event for France, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. USA and Brazil will also field a team but will not be eligible for points.

The Longines Nations Cup of Ireland gets underway at 3pm on Friday.

It’s Day 2 of the 2022 Dublin Horse Show

Credit: @RDS.

There are two main International Competitions in the Main Arena at the Dublin Horse Show today, Ladies Day.

The Speed Derby, sponsored by Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge will get the main international action underway in the 29 combination event at 1.25pm this afternoon.

The Thursday feature, The Anglesea Stakes, has an entry of 52 combinations. This class begins at 3.30pm.

The highlight of the week’s action at the Dublin Horse Show is Friday’s Longines Nations Cup of Ireland for the award of the Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy.

Details of the draw for tomorrow’s Nations Cup of Ireland can be found here.

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