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Hickstead's Press Officer Victoria Goff reflects on a fabulous week at the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting.
Everyone at Hickstead was hoping the 60th Al Shira’aa Derby would be a classic – and we weren’t disappointed, with Shane Breen delivering nothing short of a Masterclass in how to jump clear round the Derby. It was so lovely to see Shane finally win on home turf, after coming so close in the past and being so consistent in general at Hickstead. Shane was saying he’d keep coming down to the show when he was 80 to have one more attempt at winning the Derby, such was his determinism to win our showcase class. He might not have to do that anymore, with his name firmly inscribed on the Roll of Honour… But we dare say he’ll keep coming back for another attempt for quite some time!
What got slightly overlooked in all the excitement of Shane’s win was that he actually had a one-two, with Golden Hawk jumping a superb round to finish on four faults. This is a phenomenal feat, and the last person to achieve this was Eddie Macken in 1977, so Shane was in excellent company. Eddie, of course, won the Hickstead Derby four times, and we wouldn’t rule out Shane having a winning run either, with two such talented stallions in Can Ya Makan and Golden Hawk. But first he has to add that elusive second win, so that he can catch up with his brother Trevor who scored back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2015. And now Shane, like Trevor, has won all but one of our big classes – the Derby, the Speed Derby, the Eventing Grand Prix, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the All England Grand Prix and the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Great Britain. Just the King George to go – so which of the Breen brothers are going to be first to complete the set?
It should also be noted that both Shane’s Derby horses are Grand Prix stars in their own right, and they prove that you don’t need a Derby specialist to win the class. Take William Funnell, for example, whose two Derby winning rides Mondriaan and Billy Buckingham were both Nations Cup and Championship horses, who happened to also excel in Derby classes. All the young Billy Stud horses go cross-country schooling so they get used to jumping other types of fences and get an all-round education, which William says is key to success in the Derby. We also want to remind everyone about the 1.35m Douglas Bunn Memorial Challenge, which takes place at the All England Jumping Tour in September, when riders have the chance to gain experience over our unique fences set at a smaller height – the perfect introduction for a future Derby star.
Talking of William Funnell, he rode Billy Diamo into his first Al Shira’aa Derby after jumping a superb clear to win the Trial. William and Diamo finished on 16 faults to finish 11th in the Derby, which was certainly promising – we’ll be keeping a close eye on this pair in 12 months’ time.
Harriet Biddick was on amazing form even by her high standards, with wins in the Derby Trial and Speed Derby as well as a runner-up spot in the Derby itself. We don’t think there’s ever been such a consistent Derby horse as A Touch Imperious, and we know the pair have a win in them. We’ve seen Harriet pretty gutted in previous years to miss out after coming so close, but this year she seemed more pragmatic, what with ‘Henry’ being that bit older and having had two years off through injury, plus it’s hard to be disappointed when you’ve taken two out of the three biggest classes of the show!
Another of the runner-ups, Brazil’s Carlos Motas Ribas, also had a brilliant show - finishing second in the Speed Derby as well as the Derby. He made both press conferences highly entertaining, and spoke so eloquently about why the Derby is so important and why it will always be a crucial part of the showjumping calendar.
Then we had former World Champion Dermott Lennon, who was Shane’s biggest threat as he came in last to go in the Derby with Gelvins Touch. An unlucky pole at the bottom of the bank confirmed Shane’s victory, but this is another key combination that we’ll be looking out for in 2023.
Holly Smith was hoping to ride her Grand Prix horse Fruselli in the Derby but she ended up with one horse in the class, KBS Major Player, finishing in joint sixth with 12 faults. If Holly comes back double-handed next year, she could be one of the favourites to lift the trophy. Irish riders Jason Foley (D'Amour Du Nenuphar) and Jordan Coyle (Eristov) also marked themselves out as future Derby winners with great rounds to finish joint sixth, while we absolutely loved watching David Simpson on Tom Hedgecock’s Jumper Jack TS. Special mention for two amazing rides that finished joint sixth on 12 faults: William Whitaker, who piloted Elliott Smith’s Flamboyant to sixth place after Elliott broke his leg on Friday; and Michael Duffy on Trevor Breen's Franklin.
It was a slightly smaller field than normal thanks to the lengthy absence of the class during the pandemic, but it was certainly a case of quality over quantity, with all but two riders completing the course, and even some of the higher scoring rounds were more due to time faults than poles falling. Tim Gredley, for example, only had eight jumping faults with former Queen's Cup winner Gentleman VH Veldhof after a run-out at the rails at the bottom of the bank and a pole down at the open ditch - it was the time faults following the run out that proved costly.
The Al Shira’aa Derby will always be different to usual showjumping classes – it is three times as long and with double the amount of jumping efforts. It’s not technical like some Grand Prix tracks, instead it’s about having a bold, brave, careful horse that has the stamina to jump round the lengthy course, and naturally clear rounds are much harder to come by. Sixteen faults in a normal class would be a bad day at the office - in the Derby, it's a decent effort!
There are hundreds of international classes taking place all around the world in any given week these days, and it can be hard to keep track of it all, but winning the Derby is different. To conquer the course and lift the Boomerang Trophy will mean a rider is remembered forever. And the packed crowds on Derby day – up 16% from 2019 - is testament to its ongoing popularity. Bring on next year’s Al Shira’aa Derby!
* If you missed our livestream coverage of the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting, you can watch the whole show on demand if you sign up to ClipMyHorse.TV.
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