Lynch triumphant in Barcelona Grand Prix

TIPPERARY’S Denis Lynch delivered a classic performance in the five-star
Longines Grand Prix at Barcelona this evening (Sunday) to win the
victor’s prize purse of 50,500 euro with Thomas Straumann’s bay stallion
All Star.

The 39 year-old, who featured in Ireland’s fifth-placed Nations’ Cup
Final team yesterday, never looked in danger of being caught in the
18-strong second round when he stopped the clock at 47.63, a remarkable
11 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, Mexico’s Santiago Lambre and
the grey gelding Johnny Boy.

Ireland’s two other second-round contenders, Bertram Allen and Shane
Breen, were not so fortunate, with Allen having to settle for seventh
place when Molly Malone had one rail down, and Breen with Golden Hawk
dropping to 18th overall when collecting 12 faults second time out.

A challenging course at the Spanish Grand Prix saw a plethora of time
faults, with Lynch and Lambre the only two riders to finish on double
clear rounds.

Irish show jumping team manager Robert Splaine said afterwards: “We saw two terrific performances this weekend at Barcelona from members of Ireland’s European Championship team.

“Following Cian O’Connor’s incredible clear round with Good Luck in the Nations’ Cup Final yesterday, we witnessed a mind-blowing display from Denis Lynch and All Star in the Grand Prix just now, completely wiping out the opposition and finishing with an amazing 11 seconds in hand at the end of the final round.”

Shane Breen, who was not on the Nations’ Cup team yesterday, nevertheless had
two notable results in individual classes, recording a third place
earlier today on Acoustik Solo du Baloubet, and a runner-up finish
yesterday on the same horse in the Two Phase class.

Elsewhere, Ireland had two more Sunday Grand Prix wins – Cameron Hanley and Cashgirl at the two-star show in Damme, Germany, and Darragh Kenny with Picolo at the two-star show in Vilamoura, Portugal.

Denis Lynch and All Star 5