IF INDIVIDUAL form is any indicator then Ireland should be red-hot favourites to lift the Aga Khan trophy at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show this afternoon.
With three wins out of four by mid-afternoon yesterday, the green jackets were definitely the dominant force when Shane Breen galloped his way to victory in the speed derby to head an Irish one- two-three.
Originally from Cashel in Co Tipperary, Breen (34) is now based at Hickstead in west Sussex, but has lost none of his Irishness.
“You can take the man out of Ireland but you can’t take Ireland out of the man,” he joked after steering Mullaghdrin Gold Rain into the winner’s enclosure.
The 11-year-old gelding, which was bred by Teagasc chairman and former Irish Dairy Board chief executive Dr Noel Cawley, was one of only three horses that took on the water splash and it was a valuable short cut.
“I think the water was the winning of it”, Breen said afterwards.
He was always confident that he would be leading in the prizewinners, tipping himself to win in the bar two nights earlier, according to RDS equestrian committee member and official testing vet Dermot Forde.
No odds were being offered for Breen – and if they had been, his form this season would have meant they were extremely short – but the bookmakers are most certainly taking bets on the field for this afternoon’s Aga Khan trophy.
Not surprisingly the French, leaders in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup series, are quoted as 9/4 favourites, but the Irish team is not far behind on 3/1. The bookies will be expecting punters to pledge strong support for the home side.
Ireland has been drawn sixth to jump of the 10 nations, with the unfortunate Italians – already guaranteed demotion to the second division for 2010 – drawing the short straw as pathfinders.
With Ireland already guaranteed a place on the starting grid for next year’s Meydan series, Irish manager Robert Splaine is in a relaxed mood.
“It’s a big weight off my shoulders and off the riders’ shoulders,” he said. “I’m delighted we’re out of the danger zone, but it doesn’t mean we’re asleep and we know that we still have a big job to do.”
He has called on Cameron Hanley to jump first for Team Ireland, followed by Cian O’Connor and Billy Twomey, with Aachen Grand Prix winner Denis Lynch filling the last slot.
However, although the team manager is confident his lads will step up to the mark, he is aware that the French are a force to be reckoned with.
The French have their tails up with speed merchant Roger-Yves Bost in triumphant form, but even if the Army Number One Band launches into Amhrán na bhFiann rather than Le Marseillaise after the two rounds of the Aga Khan this evening, the French are unlikely to be beaten to the €100,000 prize pot for victory in the overall Meydan standings.