Honours in Saturday's Dairygold World Cup qualifier may have gone to Britain's Andrew Davies, but it was the home-grown Cameron Hanley who was celebrating at Millstreet last night as he claimed the show finale, the Dairygold Grand Prix.
Hanley, who will be walking down the aisle in Ballina Cathedral in less than three weeks, was drawn sixth of nine to go against the clock for last night's feature class. The Co Mayo rider had left his usual Grand Prix partner, Ballaseyr Twilight in his stable after a less than happy round in Saturday's World Cup, opting instead for the two years younger Ballaseyr Leonardo.
Taking the racing line throughout, Hanley and Leonardo stopped the clock on 43.81 seconds to relegate Army duo Lieutenant David O'Brien and Boherdeal Clover by more than half a second. And, despite the best efforts of the three remaining runners, including the leading Samsung Nations Cup partnership of Carl Edwards and Bit More Candy, Hanley stayed out in front to claim the u5,000 £5,000 winner's cheque.
Hanley has really leapt into the international limelight this season, adding victory in the Kerrygold Grand Prix at Dublin with Ballaseyr Twilight to his win in the King George V Gold Cup in Hickstead. Fellow Ballaseyr stable jockey Claudia Neureiter won the Queen's Cup with Leonardo at the same fixture for a Ballaseyr double, but has now passed the nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding on to Hanley.
Stablemate Ballaseyr Twilight had stopped in Saturday's World Cup qualifier, for which the prizemoney was raised from £25,000 to £40,000 by show president Noel C Duggan. u £25,000 but that was then boosted to u £40,000 by show president Noel C Duggan. Hanley's 11-year-old partner will now be given a break, as his jockey believes the horse performs better outdoors, a fact borne out by Dublin and Hickstead successes this year.
In fact very few horses operated well over Steve Hickey's track on Saturday, with just two of the 18 starters recording first round clears in a lacklustre competition. Edward Doyle, clear all the way, executed a flying dismount after going through the finish as Windgates King Koal slipped on a turn, but was still left with a 50/50 chance of scoring in the two-horse decider.
Andrew Davies and Captain Wellington were first to go in the timed round and their handbrake turns meant they stopped the clock on 42.39 seconds, but a rail off the final oxer left their target decidedly vulnerable.
A clear would have given Edward Doyle his first World Cup win, or even a faster four-faulter. But his time of 40.47 seconds was irrelevant with eight faults from the fences, leaving the British rider out in front.
Peter Charles, whose wife Tara gave birth to a baby girl in Belfast the day before the start of the international classes in Millstreet, was one of eight riders to share third after a single error in the first round.
Davies now moves up into fifth place in the western European league which will decide the start list for the World Cup final in Gothenburg next April. Edward Doyle's runner-up slot in Saturday's class leaves him in seventh place.
