Hickstead Derby Meeting – all the highlights so far ahead of Sunday’s finale

Reigning Derby champion Shane Breen logs first win of the week at Hickstead

He came into this week’s Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting as the reigning champion, and Ireland’s Shane Breen got the show off to a great start with victory in the Hickstead Annual Grade C Championship, riding eight-year-old ABC Cortana Cruise.

“She’s a bit of a feisty one,” says Shane.“She’s by Cornet Obolensky and out of a Cruising mare, which is a nice, feisty combination.”

ABC Cortana Cruise is a new ride for Shane – he picked her up in December, after having spotted her with former rider and fellow Irish competitor Melanie Davis at last year’s Derby Meeting. She then went the way of Irish Olympian Greg Broderick, and when Shane flew home over Christmas for one of his off-season hunting trips, he jumped at the chance to sit on the young horse.

“I thought she was a super jumper with a bit of attitude,” he remembers. “I’m getting to know her – I haven’t done a lot of shows with her yet, so for now, it’s all about give and take, like any relationship, I think! But she’s super careful, and she’s scopey, so I think she’s going to be an amazing competition horse. It’s just down to me to adjust my way and point her around the course – she wants to jump the jumps, so I just have to let her jump them.”

Shane and ABC Cortana Cruise were the last of the 15 starters to go, and he also had Koh-I-Noor to ride in the same class, which meant that he could be tactical with his second ride. “I’d been in earlier and had been very unlucky with my first horse, who had a brick off the wall. But then I had a look at the times and I thought, ‘if I just do the round I have in my head, I can win it’. I think she’s going to be a super horse in the future. On paper, she’s bred to be fantastic, and I think she will be.”

It's a positive start to a big week for Shane, on whom all eyes will be focused as he tackles the Al Shira’aa Derby qualifying classes through the week with his reigning champion Can Ya Makan and the rising star Scarteen. But far from feeling the pressure of trying to defend his title, Shane says: “It feels great to be back, because at least I’ve won it now! It’s a different kind of pressure – at least, once you’ve done it, you know you can. When you live here and you walk around this great arena everyday, you feel you need to win it – and now I’ve done it, it’s wonderful. Can Ya Makan is in amazing form, and I think I can win it again!”

Nifty Nicole nabs Tankard win on new ride

Scottish rider Nicole Lockhead Anderson took the top spot in today’s ClipMyHorse.TV Derby Tankard with new ride Catino 10.

A total of 27 combinations came forward for the 1.50m world ranking class, with nine riders producing that crucial first round clear to go into the jump-off. Nicole was last to go, and she produced a perfectly-timed round to shave 1sec off the leading time, relegating Ireland’s David Simpson and Pjotr Van De Kruishoeve into second place.

“I didn't actually see anybody go before me, but he's naturally a very fast horse – he's so careful and everything planned out perfectly,” said Nicole. “He loves this big arena, and it’s amazing to win here.”

She has only had the ride on the 10-year-old bay for a couple of months. “He just gets better and better,” she added. “He’s such a little character. He's only about 15.2hh but he's got so much jump and he's got a heart of a lion.”

Nicole is based in Kent, where she is stable rider for Tom and Jess Williams. “I am very lucky – I have some incredible horses to ride and I’m very grateful. I've got lots of nice young ones and I've got some really good older ones to jump these sort of classes, which is great.”

Her next stop is Friday’s Agria Derby Trial, and from there possibly a first tilt in the Al Shira’aa Derby. “We'll see how it goes. I haven't done the Derby and I'm very excited, it's an amazing class.”

Lockhead Anderson has been a prolific winner at Hickstead for the past few years – so what’s her secret? “I like going fast! And luckily so do the horses, and it’s nice when it pays off.”

Nicole narrowly missed out on a double when finishing second in today’s Stoner Jewellers Vase, riding Chatondo. It was James Whitaker and Just Call Me Henry who took the top prize, finishing more than 1.5sec quicker.

Drawn sixth to go out of 46 entries, James managed to put enough pressure on his rivals that none could match his winning time. “He won the 7 and 8 Year Old class at the Royal International here last year, and so this year, I thought I’d try him in bigger classes and see how he gets on,” James said. “He’s very, very good, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep him, because there are so many people looking for very good horses at the moment!”

Hannah Tiley’s mount is small but mighty in Hickstead win

West Sussex showjumper Hannah Tiley may have been mounted on one of the smallest horses in the field in Capistelle JX, but that didn’t stop her from logging the quickest round of the day in the two-phase 1.25m Open class at the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting.

The diminutive duo sped across the finish line in 31.19sec, nearly three seconds clear of their nearest rivals, Eleni Falla and Mistro I. Theirs was one of just four double-clears from the class.

“I've had her since she was five, and she's been great,” says Hannah, who’s based in the village of Rusper. “She’s won in the main arena a couple of times, and she just loves it in there – and she loves to jump. She's really careful, so she makes it easy.”

Despite Hannah’s early draw, she set the standard for the rest of the competitors – one that couldn’t be surpassed throughout the class. “I was first to go, and so I didn't really know what to do,” she says. “But I just tried to be forward everywhere.”

Though she found herself having to add an extra stride in one of the course’s pivotal combinations, Hannah and Capistelle JX maintained a high cruising speed to retain their position as the speediest in the class. “It's a great ring, and the ground’s always perfect, so it’s great to win here.”

The Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting takes place from 22-25 June at Hickstead in West Sussex. Tickets are available online or at the gate, and the action will also be shown live on Hickstead.TV and ClipMyHorse.TV.

Agria Derby Trial

This year’s Agria Derby Trial saw two riders share top prize, in a repeat of what happened on this day at last year’s Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting.

Twelve months ago it had been William Funnell (Billy Diamo) and Harriet Biddick (A Touch Imperious) who had shared the honours, while this year it was Britain’s Robert Whitaker and Brazil’s Carlos Ribas who opted not to jump-off against the clock but instead save their horses for Sunday’s Al Shira’aa Derby.

Drawn 16th to go, Robert was the first of the 33 starters to produce a clear round, riding the 14-year-old gelding Evert. As the remaining riders followed him into the International Arena, it seemed no one was going to match Robert’s clear until Carlos, the very last rider to go, netted a faultless round with last year’s British Speed Derby runner-up Trix.

Whitaker was quite happy to share the honours with Ribas. “My dad [John Whitaker] bred Trix, and Carlos bought him off us last year, so if it was anyone else, I wouldn’t be so happy!” he joked afterwards.

The Agria Derby Trial is similar to Sunday’s grand finale in that it’s longer than the usual showjumping course, with more jumping efforts – plus it includes some of Hickstead’s iconic permanent fences such as the less steep side of the Derby Bank. But none of these fences cause Robert’s ride Evert any concern. “He just gets a bit hot, so if you can keep him quiet, then he jumps very well. I'm not worried about any of the higher fences, I’m just trying to keep him relaxed and try and get him in a good spot in front of the fence, and he'll do the work.”

Carlos’s ride Trix would have been a formidable opponent had they jumped off against the clock, having proved himself super speedy in last year’s Speed Derby. The nine-year-old gelding has now stepped up to jumping the bigger tracks, and he marked himself as a serious Derby horse when winning one of the Hamburg Derby qualifiers last month.

Having finished runner-up in both the Derby and the Speed Derby last year, Carlos was delighted to take the top spot in the Trial. “It’s such a good feeling. He knows this ring, and he loves it here – he’s already been around here as a seven-year-old, and last year, so he feels at home. He was awesome today. I rode the horse for the Whitakers for half a season, and I liked him so much that I ended up buying him myself – so thanks, Rob, for the good job! He has a lot of ingredients of a big jumper: he has a lot of scope, he’s careful, and he has a very big heart. He can be quite strong to ride sometimes because he wants to do so well, but we get on really well and I have a lot of fun on him.”

Both riders are now in with a good chance of lifting Sunday’s Al Shira’aa Derby. If Robert wins, he would become the fourth member of his famous family to win the Boomerang Trophy, while Carlos would become the second Brazilian to win after the legendary Nelson Pessoa, who won in 1963, 1965 and 1996.

“The Derby is a class that I have a lot of respect for,” said Carlos. “I want to be positive and confident, but I also don't want to overwhelm myself expecting too much, because you never know – the luck has to be on your side. But I'm prepared; I'm fit; my horses are fit. I’ve done everything that I can, so I'm going to try to enjoy Sunday afternoon here.”

In the Agria Derby Two Phase, the 2019 Al Shira'aa Derby winner Mikey Pender took the top spot riding HHS Fortune. The pair finished less than 1sec quicker than Graham Gillespie and Veneno. “I'm just very lucky that my horse is so fast, and so when I do my job half decent, normally I'm there or thereabouts as she's so fast. I'm very lucky to have the ride on her.”

The pair are formidable against the clock, and last year at Dublin Horse Show she was placed in several speed classes and won the Speed Derby. "She's just an amazing horse; she's such a fighter and she always tries her best," added Mikey, who is now aiming to win Hickstead's Speed Derby for the first time.

Dalton sparkles in Speed Derby victory

Twenty-one year old Ella Dalton won today’s British Speed Derby at Hickstead, riding Quality Rubies N Diamonds.

It was Kent-based Ella’s first ever attempt at the 1.45m world-ranking speed class, which features many of Hickstead’s unique obstacles. Drawn 11th to go out of the 26 starters, she set off in determined fashion, especially after an early fence down put pressure on. But even with the 4sec time penalty, she still finished in a time of 101.72sec to take the win.

“I wasn't happy fence two came down, but I just thought, keep going really fast – it doesn’t matter,” said Ella. “It was quite incredible, and quite shocking that I managed to win!”

The young rider has grown up competing in working hunter classes as well as eventing up to three-star level, which meant Hickstead’s permanent fences didn’t cause her much concern. So what did she make of her first trip round the course?“I was definitely just trying to enjoy it, but the bank’s actually quite high up, so I was quite scared about that! But when you’re on a horse that’s bold and brave, you get the confidence from that.”

British riders filled the top four places, with second placed William Rekert (Concert Z) and third placed Jay Halim (Zuniek VD Tojopehoeve) each having a fence down apiece to finish on 104.79sec and 106.21sec respectively. William marked himself as one to watch for next year’s class, as Concert Z is a brand new ride. “We only picked him up last week, and this is literally the fourth time I’ve sat on him, so I’m very pleased!” he said.

Ryan Lockwood (Hyperion VP Wisbecq) was third, and the 2019 Al Shira’aa Derby winner Michael Pender was the best of the Irish riders in fifth place, riding HHS Fortune.

It was a class filled with thrills and spills – especially right at the end of the class. Three-time winner Harriet Biddick was looking like collecting another victory with the fantastic campaigner Silver Lift when her bridle broke over the Irish Bank three fences from home. The grey 18-year-old gamely carried on through the tricky treble of Hickstead planks despite Harriet having no bridle at all, but they were unable to jump the final fence and retired.

Third place Jay Halim took a tumble early on course with second ride Gentle. “I actually thought he would be the one for the win, and it’s gone the other way,” he explained. “The mare is a new horse to me and I’ve only had her a few months. She was amazing, and I’m really pleased with this for her first attempt.”

A total of 48 partnerships came forward for the £24,400 Agria Hickstead Master’s Trophy this afternoon, and just eight of those would nab an elusive clear round and qualify for the jump-off.

For a significant chunk of the class, it looked as though the old adage, where there’s a will, there’s a way, might come true: William Whitaker, William Funnell, and Will Edwards each delivered the goods to sit at the business end of the leaderboard, with two of those – Whitaker and Edwards – logging the exact same jump-off speed, 46.21 seconds.

But you can never discount the Irish at Hickstead, and two of them came in to break up the run of Wills. The first of those was Shane Breen, who snuck in with Scarteen behind then-leader William Funnell – and then it was the turn of Dermott Lennon.

Riding Bronte Stables Ltd and Harry Marshall’s Millview Cicero, Dermott cantered into the ring fully aware of the standard the three Wills had set. “I knew the boys were quick, and it was very close, so there was no room for error,” said Dermott, who threw down an extraordinarily quick jump-off time of 42.75 to win by more than three seconds. “We like to try to beat the English on home ground! My horse was jumping super, and so it was easier to go fast – and for once, the jumps came to me in the right place.”

Now the Irishman is looking ahead to a bright future with the nine-year-old, who he bought as a five-year-old from breeder Harry Marshall in Northern Ireland.

“I’ve always believed he can do the very biggest stuff, and he’s doing some lovely things along the way to that. He’s jumped every day here and he’s gotten better every day, so I’m delighted with him. He makes me look better! The horse has a very easy scope, and he’s careful, so you can really ride him at the jumps. He’s brave, too – sometimes, the horses come to these big arenas for the first time and with so much going on, they can be a little bit intimidated, but he’s gone right in and taken it all on.”

Home hero clinches victory in Beethoven 7 and 8-year-old Championship

It’s already looking like a very good week indeed for Irishman and reigning Al Shira’aa Derby winner Shane Breen, who picked up his second International Arena win of the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting.

Shane, who is based at the Sussex venue, secured the win in yesterday’s Grade C Championship with ABC Cortana Cruise before adding today’s Breen Equestrian Beethoven 7 and 8-year-old Championship to his roster of wins on Instrumental V.

“I bought her at the beginning of the year from Peder Fredricson, as I’ve always liked her,” said Shane of the diminutive daughter of Qualdandro Z. “She’s not so big, but she has a huge stride, a big gallop, and a lot of power behind, and I'm just trying to get the balance a little bit. Sometimes she'll power herself onto her forehand, but that's all improving.”

The new partnership won a CSI2* Grand Prix in Dubai earlier this season, and today’s class has been another step towards a main summer goal for the mare: “It was nice to get her in the main arena there, and she took to it very well – and now that she’s won today, the plan is to perhaps bring her back for the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in July.”

Though Shane might appear to have a home advantage, as he lives and trains on the grounds of the showground, show weeks actually prove to be a unique challenge. “A lot of people think I have the upper hand because I'm on home ground, but it's actually interesting, because the horses walk around this ring every day, and then when they come down for the show, it is very different,” he said.

“There’s all the trade stands, and people, and everything – and so actually, it's nearly easier if I just go to an away show rather than here, because they find it so different – they wonder who has invaded their patch? Over the years, I’ve found they can go a bit green.”

Graham Gillespie, also locally based near the famous Hickstead showground, was best of the British in the 4* Agria Derby two-phase for the Tom Hudson Trophy with new ride of two months Veneno.

The new partnership has already claimed Chepstow 2* Grand Prix and a world ranking win last week at Bolesworth International 3*, but just missed out adding another victory here.

Forty-seven competitors came forward in this class but only 10 accessed phase two, Graham and the Chacco-Blue x Baloubet Du Rouet 15-year-old finishing 0.69 seconds behind the winner, Ireland’s Mikey Pender on HHS Fortune.