Emotional Daniel Coyle wins Incredible €1m QEII Cup
Jordan Coyle and Darragh Kenny add five-star successes as Irish domination continues
The Coyle brothers have been having what at times seemed like a private battle at Spruce Meadows but while Jordan got the upper hand on more occasions, as he brought his tally of 1.50m five-star successes to seven on the revered Calgary sward, pride of place at the end of the week went to Daniel with his triumph in Saturday’s Atco Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
The Olympian combined with the appropriately monikered Incredible to register a third Irish victory in the €1m dollar Grand Prix in four seasons, after Paul O’Shea in 2022 and Conor Swail last year.
Swail was a valuable mentor to the younger Coyle when he attempted to kickstart his career by crossing the Atlantic in January 2016 and the Down legend, who was among the first to congratulate his friend, was in the winner’s mind as he attempted to transmit his thoughts to words afterwards.
The world No 16 has become one of the top athletes on the planet by dint of endeavour and talent however, coupled with good guidance and then, the backing of owner Ariel Grange, who celebrated her birthday over the weekend in optimum fashion.
Grange took over the running of Lothlorien Farm from her late mother, Susan, who had put her faith in Coyle after Swail had elected to move to fresh pastures, and Grange doubling down on support to the flame-haired Derry man has been repaid in spades.
It was a stunning effort by Coyle and Incredible, with a jump-off required after already going clear over two of the most testing rounds in show jumping around the vast expanse of Spruce Meadows and over a 1.60m track.
Jordan Coyle and Chaccolino were also involved in the tiebreaker and their third clear in 35.86 earned them third, having been in the lead when Daniel and Incredible entered the ring. Kyle King (USA) was runner-up with Kayenne Z but though they got mightily close, it was Daniel Coyle and Incredible that prevailed by just eight-hundredths of a second, with a time of 35.21.
“It only took 10 years… It’s incredible!” the emotional winner admitted, with a smile and glistening eyes. “I wasn’t sure how today would go, to be honest. He was second last week, which probably gave me a wee bit more of a spur on to try and get it over the line.
“Today, there’s already two rounds before you try and win the class, so it was a challenging course. First round, even more challenging I would say. Second round.
“And then the third round, thanks to Jordan, he didn’t make it simple. Then Kyle scared me. I thought I was going to be second again but thankfully I was able to hold onto it.
“I never have won (a five-star GP) on Incredible either. He’s been close a lot of times, he’s jumped a lot of clear rounds in five-star Grands Prix all over the world, but I haven’t been able to get over the line and he picked a great place to do it.
“It’s very emotional for me this one. I’ve been here for ten years now. I came here in the beginning to ride with Conor Swail and learn the ropes of Spruce Meadows and for the last ten years I haven’t won a Grand Prix [here]… but this is a good one to win so I’m happy about that!”
If the Irish have taken to dominating a prize it took so long to be won by a rider from this island, that is just a reflection of what has unfolded at Spruce Meadows in recent weeks.
The National Anthem rang out 19 times in all in the International Ring through the Summer Series and Jordan Coyle has been in the vanguard of that phenomenal success.
The Ardmore native made it seven 1.50m five-star triumphs at the Alberta venue during the course of the Summer Series by scoring in the Kubota Cup on Sunday with For Gold.
A speed class where faults translated to added time, it was dealt with expertly by Jordan and his doughty companion, as they recorded an unbeatable time of 75.59.
It was an Irish 1-2, with Abbeyleix native, James Chawke and Daido van’t Ruytershof next best four seconds back.
That was a third triumph at this level in a matter of days for Jordan, who had also won the Akita Drilling Cup on Saturday with the ultra-reliable For Gold.
The elder sibling had combined with King Kannan GP to land the spoils in the 1.50m Friends Of The Meadows jump-off class earlier in the week, exactly half a second clear of King (USA) on Sig Chiari with a time of 40.35
Five of the top ten were Irish, with three in the top five. Daniel Coyle and the resurgent Farrel posted the quickest time of the class in 39.67 and were certain to deny his brother but galloping to the last they knocked a pole, meaning they had to settle for fifth.
Swail joined Jordan Coyle and King on the podium, partnering his nine-year-old mare Qoreen van’t Ruytershof to a second clear round in 41.36.
And Darragh Kenny ensured another two more renditions of Amhrán na bhFiann when guiding Colibelle Hero Z to victory in the Moore Equine Cup.
The Offaly pilot came out on top of a five-combo jump-off and it was no surprise that a fellow Green Jacket would be his closest challenger. On this occasion, it was Swail and Qoreen van’t Ruytershof hot on their heels but 36.95 was enough to secure the gold medal. Daniel Coyle and Legacy completed the top five.
And he was on target once more on Friday, following up Daniel Coyle’s earlier triumph with an impressive victory on Lightning (below) in the 1.50m ATCO Cup.
It was another bridesmaid job for Swail and Qoreen van’t Ruytershof, their third in total, but they could have no qualms about this verdict, as Kenny’s nine-year-old mare lived up to her name to blitz the field and have more than five seconds to spare over the silver medallists.
At the five-star show in Aachen, there were major podium finishes for Denis Lynch and Shane Sweetnam, with the Tipperary rider guiding King Blue to second in the Prize of Handwerk.
The pair jumped clear in a time of 60.99 seconds to finish runner-up behind Germany’s Richard Vogel and Phenyo van het Keysersbos, with Pedro Veniss and CS Hortencia third in the speed class.
Sweetnam, whose 16-year-old daughter Olivia would win her first three-star class at Traverse City in America just a matter of hours later, also climbed to the middle step of the podium in a speed class in the Aachen’s Main Stadium on Friday.
The class was won by Nina Mallevaey (FRA) with the David Prentice-bred Irish Sport Horse, My Clementine.
Sweetnam got close with Coriaan van Klapscheut Z, the duo having also posted a top-five finish the day before, but the top-flight experience of My Clementine Mallevaey enabled them to snatch victory from their grasp..
Sweetnam’s fellow Corkman, Simon McCarthy registered a pair of three-star victories at the same Great Lakes Equestrian Festival Olivia Sweetnam enjoyed her landmark triumph.
Indeed it was the teenage Sweetnam who McCarthy had to keep at bay when winning the Traverse City National Grand Prix on Saturday. Riding Gotcha, the 29-year-old prevailed from an octet of initial clear rounds, stopping the clock on 39.01, just over four-tenths quicker than Sweetnam Jnr and Capitola.
Earlier in the week, McCarthy and his mare Narcotique v/h Dingenshof were first into the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring for a speed class but their clear in 60.60 seconds was too hot for everyone, the closest being Thomascourt Ballypatrick (ISH), ridden by Charlotte Jacobs (USA)
“She’s very fast at this level, so even going first didn’t affect us too much,” said McCarthy (pictured above at the presentation ceremony). “I stick to my own plan with her and I’m very grateful for the results she has given me.
“Her job has been to be a speed horse recently as I’ve been giving some of the younger horses time to develop into the grands prix. The summer is very exciting and I’m fortunate to be coming back to Traverse City for some of the bigger events.”
Philip McGuane was victorious too at three-star grade, guaranteeing connections the lion’s share of the prize money in the $100,000 Richard M Feldman Memorial Grand Prix at Lake Placid on Sunday.
The Clare rider and Orphea HQ emerged from the cauldron of 34 hungry combinations with the spoils but it wasn’t easy, with 14 still standing after the opening gambit.
When their time came, however, McGuane and his 11-year-old mare were fast and accurate, going clear again in 39.41.
“I took a little bit of a risk at the beginning so I could have enough time to jump the last double, which caused some issues for some of the riders,” said McGuane. “My mare is an unbelievable jumper, super-fast across the ground, so unless I made a mistake, she doesn’t want a jump down.
“So I just tried to stay cool, and today it worked out.”
McGuane departed Lake Placid with an extra €2,000 and the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Trophy for Excellence, as his victory and last week’s sixth in the Grand Prix of Lake Placid placed him top of the prize money list for the two GP events.
David Simpson and Jessica Burke left the four-star show at Bolesworth with two podium finishes each. A Derry compatriot of the Coyles, Simpson was third in a 1.50m jump-off with Billy Fern and then improved that by one position in the Grand Prix.
There had to be mixed feelings about that as Simpson and Pjotr van de Kruishoeve were just eight-hundredths of a second off the tie-break time set by Laura Renwick (GBR) and Marseille.
Simpson and Pjotr van de Kruishoeve were part of a ten-strong jump-off that included Sean Monaghan, with Toyger, and Burke and Good Star du Bary.
All three jumped clear second time around in the International Arena, with Monaghan finishing sixth and Burke making it an Irish-centric podium, just failing to break the 38-second barrier to secure third.
Simpson and PVDK stopped the clock at 37.18 but that was marginally shy of Renwick.
On Sunday, it was Burke’s turn to move up one berth to the silver medal in the final four-star class of the week, combining with Romelus de Muze for second behind UAE’s Abdullah Mohd Al Marri with James VD Oude Heihoef. Monaghan made it up to third on board Tiberio Della Caccia.
Richie Moloney earned a bronze medal in the $120,000 three-star Grand Prix at Tryon International, won by Kristen Vanderveen (USA) and Bull Run’s Jireh. Moloney and Coco Beach were among the only three clear rounds and the Kilkenny pilot opted to navigate a steady clear..
Moloney also made it into the top five as the second fastest four faulter, with Skelwith Diamond Lady.
BREEDING
THOMASCOURT BALLYPATRICK (ISH) – 2015 brown gelding by Balou du Rouet (OLD) out of Doctros Delight (ISH) by Indoctro (HOLST). Breeder: Séamus Casey, Co Kerry. Owner: North Star Sport Horses. Rider: Charlotte Jacobs (USA)
MY CLEMENTINE (ISH) – 2015 ch mare by Obos Quality 9old) out of Qualisca de Vansichant (SBS) by Kashmir van Schuttershof (SBS). Breeder: David Prentice, Co Down. Owner: Rein Family. Rider: Nina Mallevaey (FRA)
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