IRISH riders had two more top places at Vienna today (Sunday), with Anna Merveldt boosting her chances of securing an individual Olympic slot for Ireland by finishing on a score of 75.725 per cent in the Grand Prix Kür, while Tipperary's Shane Breen took third place in the Vienna Championship jump-off class.

Merveldt, riding her 15 year-old Bavarian Warmblood gelding 'Coryolano', is currently one of the top four individual combinations in Group A of nations not already qualified for London, and today's second place result will help keep her in the chase when the final Olympic rankings are decided at the end of February next year.

Merveldt finished second in the Kür to Germany's Anja Plönzke and Le Mont d'Or.

Sussex-based Breen, who has had a profitable few days in the Austrian capital, added a further 3650 euro to his haul with the Irish-bred Olympic Lux gelding Cos I Can, chalking up just one of four double clear rounds in tonight's jump-off, but having to concede victory to a faster final round from Brazil's Alvaro Miranda with the grey Hannoverian gelding AD Ashleigh Drossel Dan.

Breen took a third in Friday night's feature class, the Vienna Masters, riding his own bay mare Luikka, with fellow Tipperary-born rider Denis Lynch finishing in tenth on the eight year-old stallion Contifex. The Masters was won by Italy's Emanuele Gaudiano and the Cornet Obolensky mare Cocoshynsky.

Earlier in the day Lynch had also claimed a third place in the two-phase competition aboard Thomas Straumann's gelding Crocant, beaten to the winner's trophy by Switzerland's Pius Schwizer and the Belgian-bred gelding Ulysse.

In the three-star dressage on Friday, Anna Merveldt took the Grand Prix runner-up spot on her own 15 year-old gelding Coryolano, with Germany's Anja Plönzke claiming first place with the 12 year-old Le Mont d'Or.

The 85,000 euro Viennese Grand Prix takes place on Monday night.
BREEDING
Cos I Can (ISH) – 2003 bay gelding by Olympic Lux (KWPN) out of Carel View Lass (ISH), by Harlequin De Carel (SF). Bred by John Griffin, Ballyvogue House, Asketon, Co. Limerick. Owner/Rider: Shane Breen (IRL)
 

Anna Merveldt