Ireland’s Bertram Allen takes Grand Prix victory in Verona

Wexford's Bertram Allen rounded off a successful weekend in Verona when winning Sunday's FEI World Cup Grand Prix on the 10-year-old mare Molly Malone V.

From a starting line-up of 36, Allen was one of 10 riders to get through to the jump-off round. The 19-year-old, who was second-last to take on the shortened track, shaved three-quarters of a second off the time of Dutch leader Maikel van der Vleuten riding VDL Groep Verdi TN N.O.P.

The winning rider, who is based near Münster in Germany with Marcus Ehning and was making his debut in the Longines-sponsored series, won €43,750 as he racked up his first 20 World Cup points.

Speaking afterwards, Allen said of Molly Malone V, which is owned by his family’s Ballywalter Farms: “She’s fast and careful. This is a great horse and I’m very lucky to have her.”

On Friday, Allen won the afternoon's speed class with another mare, Wild Thing L, which is owned jointly by Ballywalter Farms and Billy Twomey.

At home over the weekend, Alexander Butler won Friday’s final round of the Gain/Alltech Grand Prix series at Cavan on Harold McGahern’s home-bred gelding Will Wimble while Daniel Coyle’s good weekend at the Clarke family’s venue continued when he landed Sunday night’s Grand Prix with John Carr’s Dutch warmblood stallion Zuidam.