Shane Breen completes excellent start for Irish riders on opening day of Dublin Horse Show at the RDS

Tipperary’s Shane Breen made it a clean sweep for Irish riders on the opening day of the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS, scoring a hard-fought victory in the feature Sport Ireland Classic.

A massive 17 combinations from 69 starters made it through to the jump-off, with Breen (pictured) drawn last to go against the clock with the nine-year-old stallion, Ipswich van de Wolfsakker. Bertram Allen had held top spot with Izzy By Picobello with a clear in 41.92 seconds, however Breen shaved nine hundredths of a second off the target to land the winners prize of over €8,000 in a time of 41.83. Wexford’s Allen took runner-up spot, while Waterford’s Anthony Condon made it an Irish 1-2-3. Condon posted a time of 42.13 when second to go against the clock to finish third with Balzac.

The earlier Speed Stakes at the RDS also saw victory going to a Tipperary rider. Thurles-born Greg Broderick and Zuidam took the winners prize ahead of American runner-up Lillie Keenan with Be Gentle, while Offaly’s Darragh Kenny finished third with Chakito.

Irish team manager Rodrigo Pessoa will tomorrow (Thursday) name his team, sponsored by The Underwriting Exchange and Devenish, for Friday’s Aga Khan Nations Cup. Eight nations will line out, with Ireland joined by Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Britain and USA.