Trevor Breen wins Speed Derby at Hickstead

TREVOR BREEN sped into the record books at Hickstead in a high-octane Speed Derby. Riding Karen Swann’s nine-year-old Adventure De Kannan, the Irishman won the class in a time of 92.24sec — the second-fastest in the history of the class.

The current record holder is Trevor’s brother Shane Breen who posted his record-breaking time of 91.96sec here last year and was not far behind again today, finishing third on Royal Concorde.

“I rode two horses in this class last year but you can’t appreciate how quick you have to go to win it until you actually do it,” said Co Tipperary-based Trevor, who is the current Irish national champion. “It opened my eyes, I went home and did some schooling and I’ve been aiming for this class all year.”

Joe Whitaker prevented a Breen family whitewash by going clear in 100.74sec on Kool Kaiser for second place. The ecstatic 21-year-old underlined just how quick you need to be over the 1.45m track which included the Irish bank, the famous Hickstead planks and the “easier” side of the Derby bank: “Every time you think you’re going fast, you actually have to go twice as quick,” he said.

See full report in Horse & Hound’s eight-page Hickstead special, out Thursday 2 July.

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