Excellent fourth place finish for Mayo’s Michael G Duffy at Global Champions Tour in Rome – Lynch helps Miami Celtics to league win

Mayo’s Michael G Duffy and Castlefield Rubinus have scored a hugely impressive fourth place finish in today’s five-star €300,000 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix at Rome in Italy.

Twenty-two year-old Duffy from Knockmore, Co Mayo, was just the third rider to enter the arena in the first round and he made the course look deceptively easy with the 10-year-old gelding Castlefield Rubinus who is owned by Carl Hanley Sporthorses. Many of the world’s top riders who followed failed to jump clear and eventually just five combinations would go forward to the jump-off.

Duffy, who was a gold medalist at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China, was first to go against the clock and posted another impressive clear in 39.68 seconds. Britain’s Ben Maher took the winners prize of €99,000 when last to go with a time of 37.45 aboard Explosion W. Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann finished second with Cantinero in 38.32 ahead of Belgium’s Jos Verlooy in third with Caracas (38.85). Duffy was the only other rider to jump double clear and collected €30,000 for his fourth place finish.

In the earlier Global Champions League competition at the same venue, a clear round from Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and RMF Echo helped Miami Celtics to victory. They teamed up with America’s Jessica Springsteen and RMF Zecilie to finish as the only team to complete the two rounds on a zero score.