Breens take top two spots in Bunn Leisure Derby Trial

Shane Breen was a winner once again today at the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead, finishing ahead of brother Trevor Breen in the Bunn Leisure Derby Trial.

Of the five riders who went through to the jump-off, Phillip Miller (Caritiar Z) and Sammie Jo Coffin (Willem De Lux) both had four faults in the second round, while Harriet Nuttall finished clear on 66.81sec (A Touch Imperious).

Ireland’s Trevor Breen and Adventure De Kannan then bettered Harriet’s time by just half a second, and looked the likely winners until elder brother Shane, who was last to go, went more than 7sec faster to claim the £7,000 first prize with Cos I Can.

“It felt great to beat Trevor because he normally beats me,” said Shane. “I didn't know how fast he'd gone, but knowing Trev and ‘Addy’ they're always quick so I had to move on a bit.”

It was another good result for Trevor’s ride Adventure De Kannan, who recently had an eye removed.

“He’d had ongoing problems for five years, but it got to the stage when it was unmanageable and his vision was down to 20%, and he was in pain,” said Trevor. “The horse never ceases to amaze me – he's come back better than ever, and has won an Area Trial and an International Stairway class since the operation. He's much happier in himself and it’s wonderful to see him back to his old self.”

It was a poignant result for both Shane and Trevor, whose mother Mary Breen passed away last week.

Abdullah Al Sharbatly was another repeat winner, following up his win in yesterday’s Bunn Leisure Derby Trophy with a win in the Hickstead Master’s Challenge, a speed class named in honour of Douglas Bunn, the founder of the Hickstead showground.

The LED Sport Europe Speed Derby is the highlight of tomorrow’s action, where riders tackle a number of Hickstead’s permanent fences at speed. Among those lining up include Robert Power, a National Hunt jockey who won the Grand National in 2007 on board Silver Birch.