Welshman Mark had picked up his first Speed Derby victory 12 months earlier with the talented mare Royale Tale. She had looked every inch a potential future Al Shira’aa Derby horse, but his hopes of continued successes with the horse were dashed when he lost her in a competition accident just a few weeks after her Hickstead victory.

But this year Mark returned to the top of the leaderboard thanks to a beautiful clear round on his top horse Dillinger NE (Diarado), an 11-year-old owned by Mark’s Dad, Martyn Edwards.  

“He jumped the King George V last year and really loved it, so I thought he would do well. He’s just a great horse,” Mark said. “Royale Tale and Dillinger are two completely different horses but Dillinger just loved it, he used his stride really well."

Drawn 18th of the 25 starters, Mark produced the first of just three clear rounds in a time of 97.43sec – the other clears came from runner-up Sammie-Jo Coffin and Big Star of Follyfoot Z (101.98sec) and third placed Georgina Ellis and Croisier.

Now Mark is aiming to do another unique Hickstead double: trying to win both the British Speed Derby and the Al Shira'aa Derby in the same year with the same horse, something that has never been done. But Dillinger NE has always been a very versatile horse. 

"This is the first weekend he’s done any Derby classes and he just took to it like a duck to water,” said Mark. "He’s been a great horse for me, he’s done a lot of things over the years from Nations Cups to winning international Grands Prix."

The podium ended up being a truly international affair, with Ireland’s Sean Monaghan and Toyger taking the win ahead of the UAE’s Abdullah Mohd Al Marri (BBS McGregor) and fellow UAE rider Humaid Abdulla Khalifa Al Muhairi with Foncetti VD Heffinck (For Pleasure); while John Whitaker and the up-and-coming Hamstamgram finished the best of the Brits in eighth place.

Sean and Toyger were part of the Irish team at last year’s Agria Royal International Horse Show, and he rates the 14-year-old son of Catwalk IV (Corman) very highly. “I knew I had arguably the best horse in the class, and I was last to go, so if everything came right I’d say he was going to pull it off,” said Sean. “He’s one of the best horses in the world, he’s absolutely phenomenal.”

It was a winning return for Toyger, who has had some time off over the winter. “It’s his first big show since the League of Nations Final last October. It’s an emotional win because it’s been a long wait to get him back on the road. He’s been unlucky with a few little setbacks since October, nothing major, but we wanted to make sure he was fully back and now he feels better than ever, so I am excited for what’s ahead of him.”