Aga Khan:Italy made a mockery of the predictions to claim the Aga Khan trophy for the first time at the Dublin Horse Show today, but Ireland turned in a drastically below par performance finishing last of the eight teams that progressed to the second round.
Cameron Hanley, Cian O’Connor and Billy Twomey registered eight faults each in the opening round, leaving Denis Lynch and Lantinus to spare the blushes with a clear round that saw them through to the second stage.
Favourites France also stumbled into the second round as the Netherlands and Sweden bowed out but the Italians advanced alongside the USA with two clears and a four.
France rallied in the second round and the USA suffered a dramatic slump as the pair finished in a tie for fourth.
O’Connor managed to keep his tally down to four on Rancorrado but the rest of the Irish struggled and eighth place was the best the hosts could manage.
The Italians, on the other hand, stayed on course to give new manager, Switzerland’s Markus Fuchs, a day to remember.