Flawless Shane Breen claims Hickstead Derby aboard Can Ya Makan

Ireland's Shane Breen won the 60th anniversary Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby after a masterful display of jumping.

Breen, who is based at the West Sussex venue, delivered the only clear round over a huge course that featured fierce tests like the Derby Bank and Devil’s Dyke.

Drawn early among 21 starters, Breen and 16-year-old stallion Can Ya Makan set a standard that no other combination could match.

And it gave Breen, whose brother Trevor won the event in 2014 and 2015, a first Derby triumph, collecting a top prize of £34,650 (€40,000).

In doing so, he added his name to a Derby roll of honour that includes showjumping giants like Eddie Macken, Harvey Smith, David Broome, John Whitaker, Nick Skelton and Ben Maher.

Breen, on his second ride Golden Hawk, also finished in a four-way tie for the runners-up spot alongside Somerset-based Harriet Biddick, riding A Touch Imperious, Ireland’s Dermott Lennon and Gelvins Touch and Brazilian Carlos Mota Ribas, aboard Jella Van’T Kathof.