"They thrive off it'

From 21-year-old Gammon to Shane Breen's teenage charges, why does the Hickstead Derby bring out the best in veterans? Jennifer Donald finds out

- Jennifer Donald

IT may surprise you that the first-ever winner of the British Jumping Derby at Hickstead in 1961 was just a six-year-old – Goodbye III, ridden by Seamus Hayes. That could never happen nowadays, of course, but compare that winning youngster to last year’s victor, the 16-year-old Can Ya Makan with Shane Breen in the saddle, who was chased home by 18-year-old A Touch Imperious (Harriet Biddick) and Shane’s other ride, the 17-year-old Golden Hawk, and you can see the polar shift in the age of successful Derby horses.

John Whitaker’s Gammon, who won in 1998 aged 21, remains the oldest horse to triumph over the West Sussex turf, but teenage horses often excel in this iconic class. So what is it about the Hickstead Derby that brings out the best in these veterans?

Title-holder Shane Breen puts it down to their “experience, Hickstead’s good footing, having a bit of time between obstacles and older horses knowing how to jump big fences”.

“That all blends nicely for them,” says Shane, who returns this year to defend his crown with the now 17-year-old stallion Can Ya Makan, as well as 10-year-old debutant Scarteen. “The bottom line is their experience, but those older horses appreciate how good the turf is now at Hickstead. It’s a big course, but there’s enough time for them between the jumps.”

While 18-year-old stallion Golden Hawk has been too busy with breeding duties to make a Hickstead reappearance this year, Shane couldn’t be happier with the prospect of defending his title.