Switzerland's Markus Fuchs, winner of the World Cup final in Gothenburg at Easter, scooped the lion's share of the £66,000 on offer in yesterday's Kerrygold Grand Prix, winning with the only clear round in a five-way, all-visitor jump-off.
And while Fuchs has competed in Dublin "many times", he said last night that he would not bring his top horses here again unless the going in the main arena was improved.
None of the home side found the key to Paul Duffy's demanding 12-fence track, made all the tougher by the soggy underfoot conditions, but Switzerland had two through and the Netherlands, the USA and Britain had one apiece for the timed decider.
Biggest drama of the day affected Lieut David O'Brien and Boherdeal Clover. The stallion, which is leased to the Army Equitation School, picked up a stride early at the middle element of the combination and fell heavily, crashing amidst a jumble of poles. O'Brien was quickly on his feet but the stallion was on three legs, looking very sore and stunned.
Vet Peadar O Scannaill was on the scene almost instantly and the horse was loaded into a Blue Cross horse ambulance. He was said to be "comfortable" last night and is expected to make a full recovery.
Just six were left to jump after the accident, but none managed to boost the elite quintet to six for the decider. Jos Lansink, a member of Belgium's winning team in Friday's Aga Khan, was first in to set the target, but his plans for a careful clear went awry when he picked up a brace of time faults with AK Caridor.
British hope Tim Stockdale wouldn't have minded a £22,000 cheque for his 37th birthday, but with three fences down he retired Parcival, leaving the arena as Fuchs cantered in on Tinka's Boy. The self-effacing Fuchs, who had put up the discard score for the Swiss team in the first round of Friday's Kerrygold Nations Cup, wasted no time getting the stallion round clear in 51.69 seconds and then had to sit and pray that the two to follow wouldn't better him.
Compatriot Urs Fah hit the third fence and picked up three time faults, but there were some anxious moments for Fuchs when Schuyler Riley of the US turned inside the water to the second and, despite a skid, was well up on the clock. But the 11year-old Ilian got stuck in the mud at the final double and, with the first part down, Riley dropped to third behind Fuchs and Lansink.
The Irish missed the entrance to the Puissance winner's enclosure on Saturday as well, with Stockdale and Damien Charles sharing the honours after clearing 7ft 1ins, but Clem McMahon flew the flag for Co Monaghan when getting the best of a six-way jump-off to claim the Kerrygold mini-Grand Prix on Saturday.
Riding the eight-year-old Clover Hill stallion Gelvin Clover, McMahon slashed over a second off the target set by Britain's Michael Whitaker to lift the £4,000 winner's purse in his first ever international win at Dublin. But Whitaker came out ahead again in yesterday's Kerrygold Speed Championship for his third win of the week, to take the leading international rider award, while the national equivalent went to Dermott Lennon.