He said: ‘I knew you were going to do that!’ Top rider swipes win from under brother’s nose – with his ‘future dream horse’

Shane Breen came in last to swipe the Clipmyhorse.tv Master’s Trophy from under his brother Trevor’s nose at the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby meeting – with his “future dream horse”.

Trevor and Luidam’s Warrior had held the lead from first draw in the 12-strong jump-off with a beautifully balanced and deceptively fast round, until Shane and BP Arctic Blue came in and took over a second off their time.

“He said: ‘What did you do that for; I knew you were going to do that’!” Shane joked afterwards. “I saw him go and it was a very good round, neat and tight, but I thought I’d go full speed to the first. The late Con Power once told me that if you gallop through the start beams, you’ll always be half a second ahead of everyone, so I just thought ‘gallop’!”

Shane and Gibbs Int Ltd and S Richards’ nine-year-old then took a few strides out, including a flier to the last double.

“I didn’t know if I’d beaten Trevor, then looked at the clock and was dead chuffed,” he said. “Arctic Blue is an absolutely incredible horse.”

Shane spotted the son of A Pikachu De Muze as a five-year-old, then he and his wife Chloe bought him at the end of 2023.

“I always thought he looked like a dream horse,” he said. “I produced him quietly last year, and this year he’s been amazing; he’s jumped six grands prix, won one, second in four and third, and he’s an absolute pleasure. He’s super smart and a great character, and he gives me everything; you can feel his whole body, like an elastic band. And all he wants is a few Polos and cuddles. He wants to be a celebrity, and hopefully he will be.”

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