Which Al Shira'aa Derby performances caught our eye? Hickstead's Press Officer Victoria Goff recaps on a brilliant 63rd Hickstead Derby
The Al Shira’aa Derby always produces so many great stories – and this year was no exception.
There was Robert Whitaker winning his first Derby, and becoming the fourth member of his family to have his name inscribed on the Boomerang Trophy. There was Robert and his Dad John becoming the first father and son to win the Hickstead Derby. There was that epic three-way jump-off, which ended up going down to the wire between cousins Robert and William Whitaker. Then there was Robert’s hat-trick of major Hickstead wins, having won the King George V Gold Cup in 2023 and the Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain in 2024.
And of course our new champion Gentlemen VH Veldhof, who at 19 is one of the oldest winners in Derby history. He’s been ridden by so many top riders – from Joe Clayton, who finished sixth with him in the Derby 12 months ago, to Tim Gredley, who rode him in two Al Shira’aa Derbies, to David Simpson, with whom he won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in 2019, to Michael Whitaker, who rode him in his first Derby back in 2017 – even son Jack Whitaker competed him a few times!
But it was with Robert that things finally fell into place in the Al Shira’aa Derby, despite it being a relatively new partnership. He had seen how well Gentlemen had jumped the Derby the previous year with Joe, and had pinpointed him as a horse that had a very good chance of lifting the trophy. Thanks to supportive owner Caroline Blatchford – who also owns Robert’s King George and Nations Cup winner Vermento – they were able to purchase the horse from Tim Gredley, and he moved to Robert’s yard just 5min away from Hickstead at the end of last year. In fact, all four Derby winners from the 2020s have all been stabled within 30min of the showground!
Another interesting fact is that four of the five most recent renewals of this class have ended with three-way jump-offs, with all of them following three first round clears except for 2024, when the four-faulters jumped off.
William Whitaker has featured in the jump-off for the past two years with Flamboyant III, a horse he only rides during the Derby Meeting. They came so close to winning this year, jumping clear in the jump-off all the way to the penultimate double, then crossing the finish just 1.4sec behind Robert. It’s such a beautiful partnership to watch, and it would be great if William gets the ride again next year so he can try to join the ranks of the two-time Derby champions – hopefully it will be third time lucky for the pair. William did have a bit of luck on his side though when Flamboyant hit the middle part of the Devil’s Dyke in the first round – the pole flew up into the air then landed neatly back in the cups.
When we say this year’s Al Shira’aa Derby started with a bang we really mean it – what a round by first drawn Sammie-Jo Coffin and the Irish Sports Horse Chaccomo Blue. People had barely taken their seats in the grandstands when Sammie-Jo rode in and produced a beautiful clear, making the fearsome Derby course look like a Discovery, clearing each fence by a foot. It made their achievement even more notable when the next five riders into the arena failed to complete, and it wasn’t until Robert Whitaker came in as the 19th to go that we got another clear round. Sammie-Jo was extremely unlucky in the jump-off to have the second fence down, as Chaccomo Blue jumped all the rest of the difficult fences with ease. She’s been the highest placed lady rider for the past three years, and if the way they jumped this year is anything to go by, they are bound to start as one of the favourites in a year’s time.
Aside from the top three, who else impressed us? Shane Breen produced a brilliant round on Fanfan De Beaufour only to just miss out on the jump-off with two time penalties – something we’re not sure we’ve ever seen Shane do in the Derby. They’re definitely ones for the notebook next year, however, and the way they jumped down the Bank was just textbook.
There’s always a share of hard luck stories in the Derby and this year’s biggest came from Carlos Mota Ribas, who jumped a lovely round on Juan Van’t Arkelhof. They were clear all the way until two from home, when Carlos lost a stirrup and ended up hitting the white palisade and one part of the double of white gates to finish on eight faults. Carlos is so determined to win the Derby, and in the run up to this year’s class he went on a real fitness kick that saw him and his horse lose 100kg between them compared to last year. We hope we’ll see this combination back again next summer.
We’ve had a few event riders jump in the Derby over the years, but this year we had more than ever! Gemma Stevens is now a fully-fledged Derby stalwart, having jumped round for the past three years. Their 2024 Derby attempt had ended at the top of the Bank, and this year it was the huge 1.60m upright at the bottom of the Bank that caused them the most problems.
The reigning Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge winner Alexander Bragg finished joint 12th with the scopey grey mare Hegglelane Houston, and we reckon this pair will come back even better having now gained vital experience round the course. Stephan Dubsky and Hannah Sims both started out eventing but now predominantly compete in jumping, and they finished in joint 12th and 16th place respectively. Talking of eventing, the ex-intermediate event horse BH Gringos Legacy had a great show with new rider Guy Williams, coming second equal in the Agria Derby Trial and finishing fifth equal in the Derby itself. With his Agria Derby Trial winner Crumbgraft looking every inch a potential Derby horse, Guy now has two extremely strong chances of winning a second Derby title.
Joe Whitaker and Vagalenco GF were another combination to catch the eye, just having one element of the Devil’s Dyke and the dry ditch down to finish joint fifth. The mare is only nine, and will have absolutely come on for the experience. With Joe finishing second in Saturday’s Brilliance Horse Auction Speed Derby, he might have a real chance of becoming the first rider to do the Speed Derby/Derby double since Ben Maher in 2005. Meanwhile, three lovely greys also produced good rounds – Irving VG, joint fifth with Christopher Franks; Hawthornhill, also fifth for Commandant Geoff Curran, and Paddy O’Donnell’s ride Kilcorig Elysium. Only two grey horses have won the Hickstead Derby, so could we see another join them in 12 months’ time?
After William Funnell set a new Derby record in 2024 with a fifth win, we did wonder if this year we might see him extend his winning record to a sixth title. Dublon has been an amazing Derby performer for William, going clear in 2023 and winning on four faults in 2024. Alas this year it wasn’t meant to be, with an element of the Dyke falling followed by the Derby Rails and the final fence. We also wondered if four-time winner Michael Whitaker might end up matching William’s record, but his Derby return on D&H Q Paravatti N came to an abrupt halt with a tumble at the bottom of the Bank. We’d absolutely love to see William and Michael go head to head again next summer – and perhaps fellow four-timer John Whitaker could join them and give them both a run for their money!
So there we have it. A brilliant Derby played out in lovely sunshine in front of packed stands. A new name on the trophy, and plenty of eye-catchers to look out for in the 64th Al Shira’aa Derby. We’re counting down the days already.
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Which Al Shira'aa Derby performances caught our eye? Hickstead's Press Officer Victoria Goff recaps on a brilliant 63rd Hickstead Derby
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