Swail secures top spot in French 1.50m speed class
Co. Down man leads home an Irish five-star 1-2-4 in Dinard
Conor Swail came out on top of the five-star Prix l’Eperon-Charles De Cazanove in Dinard, France on Saturday, July 29, leading home an impressive 1-2-4 for Irish riders.
Swail and ‘Theo 160’, who has been in sparkling form Stateside all season, jumped a scintillating clear round in the 1.50m speed class, coming home in a time of 67.17 seconds.
That proved a cut above the combination’s rivals, with world number 10 Swail’s 2022 Aga-Khan Trophy-winning teammate Shane Sweetnam finishing in the runner-up position on ‘Out Of The Blue SCF’ in a time of 69.55 seconds.
Denis Lynch and ‘Vistogrand’ were agonisingly close to making it a full house on the podium, but Belgian Gilles Thomas was a mere 0.12 seconds faster than the Tipperary man, coming home in 70.13 seconds on board ‘Feromas Van Beek Z’.
Swail and ‘Theo 160’ also landed the opening class of the show on Thursday, taking the 1.45m three-star class. Swail, on board ‘Nadal Hero & DB’, along with world number nine rider Sweetnam, Lynch and compatriot Mikey Pender, also competed in the five-star Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.