Bertram Allen wins Florida World Cup to complete fantastic weekend for the Irish

A sensational performance from Wexford’s Bertram Allen and Harley vd Bisschop saw them take victory in tonight’s (Sunday) four-star Longines FEI World Cup Grand Prix at Ocala, Florida in the USA.

Bertram Allen and Harley vd Bisschop (Photo: FEI)

A thrilling jump-off saw Allen pip Irish team-mate Daniel Coyle and Legacy who finished as runners-up, while Co Down’s Conor Swail consolidated his position at the top of the table with a fourth place finish aboard Vital Chance de la Roque.

Eleven of the 30 starters made it through to the jump-off where Daniel Coyle took the lead with an excellent clear in 38.03 seconds aboard the Ariel Grange-owned Legacy. Conor Swail was second last to go with Vital Chance de la Roque and his clear in 39.14 would see him finish fourth and extend his lead at the top of the North American World Cup league table.

Allen was last to go with the 15-year-old Ballywalter Stables-owned Harley vd Bisschop, and the Irish Olympian produced an outstanding clear in 37.67 to scoop the winners prize of almost €65,000.

“He’s 14 and an experienced horse,” Allen said of his mount. “He loves the grass, and the ground here is fantastic.

“I saw that Daniel was maybe over a second quicker than [Andre], which I didn’t think was possible. So, I knew I had to give it everything, and it all came off and everything was actually very fast and well, and he really tried hard.

“I think the main thing was to just stay [on the pace],” he said. “I maybe added one more [stride] to the double, and then we were very fast. I hoped we’d won it at the last.”

The Irish domination of the World Cup in Ocala, Florida comes on the same weekend that Michael Blake’s Irish team of Eoin McMahon, Max Wachman, Andrew Bourns and Cian O’Connor took victory in the Nations Cup at nearby Wellington in Florida.