Curran and Fitzgerald enter winners circles in EuropeJordan Coyle won the first international class of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Miami Beach, the opening leg of the new-look LGCT competition for 2026, leading an Irish hegemony in the 1.60m individual speed competition on Friday.As well as this excellent five-star success, there was a Big Tour four-star victory on the Toscana Tour for Commandant Geoff Curran at the Arezzo Equestrian Centre in Italy on Saturday with DHF Alliance (ISH), bred in Tyrone by Paul Douglas, while Daniel Fitzgerald saw off Harry Allen in the Peelbergen Grand Prix in The Netherlands earlier the same day. Remarkably, that was exactly how the pair finished in Thursdays GP qualifier, giving the young Kilcullen pilot bragging rights for the week over his Aloga Stables colleague from Enniscorthy.Coyle took the biggest prize however, and it was one-way traffic for the Green Jackets as the Tour returned to the Florida venue of Mimi Beach after a one-year hiatus, with Ciarn Nallon runner-up on Casalla Blue PS, Cian OConnor fourth on Kentucky TN and Shane Sweetnam rounding out the top five aboard Pegina vd Bisschop.No one could land a glove on Coyle and his 15-year-old gelding For Gold (above and feature pic), which he owns in partnership with Falkirk Farm. The duo have won all over the world but this was a significant triumph, carrying on a good run of form for the Ardmore athlete since his return from a broken leg at the end of last year with the best of just four clear rounds in the speed class.Nallon took up the lead with his Beerbaum Stables-owned 10-year-old as just the sixth pairing into the ring for the Longines ranking class, going clear in 70.81 seconds.The Ballymacredmond rider did not have too long to consider the possibility of a five-star success as Coyle and For Gold were ninth in. The Derry native had obviously seen enough to be able to measure the quickest way to navigate the track as he kept his naturally fast partner up to his task, while trusting in the bays clean jumping.One particularly tight turn proved definitive and when the clock stopped, it read 68.52. The remainder of the field did not just fail to better his standard, they could not supplant Nallon either, with Thibault Philippaerts (BEL) and Lyandro MDB (77.77), and OConnor and Kentucky TN (78.64) registering the only other blemish-free jumping efforts.Sweetnam and Pegina did post the fastest time of the competition, sprinting around in 68.23, but one error from the World No 7 and his 11-year-old mare denied them the major spoils.And while the show did not end with Amhrn na bhFiann being aired for patrons, swimmers and sunbathers alike at this unique venue on Sunday night Irish time, the Irish representation was considerable in the LGCT Grand Prix, with three pairings in the 13-strong jump-off and all making the top 10.That came after Coyle and For Gold took fourth earlier in the day in another five-star competition, the Champagne Barons de Rothschild, a 1.45m speed class won by Jerme Guery (BEL), with Careca LS Elite in a time of 59.42. The Irish pair just missed out on the podium by 16-hundredths of a second, going clear in 60.88.Ironically, it was the Irish combo that finished furthest in the jump-off from history-making three-time victor, Katrin Eckermann and her big-striding Iron Dames Dialou Blue PS, that went closest to denying the German and in the process posting what would have been a signature and breakthrough success.Nallon and Casalla Blue PS (above) were marginally ahead of the benchmark time when making a tight turn back to the wall that prompted a run-out and an ultimate return of five faults and 10th position. Such are the tiny margins but the 24-year-old Mayo pilot left a distinctly positive impression on the big stage during the week and is sure to utilise the experience of contending in such rarefied atmosphere to positive effect in the coming months.Mikey Pender still had a chance, riding the Irish Sport Horse HHS Los Angeles, bred by former Irish Nations Cup stalwart Marion Hughes, but the Castledermot rider knew his fate early after dropping an early rail and made sure to come home safely from there for ninth.It was OConnor and Kentucky TN that secured the highest position of the Irish contingent, posting a double clear that initially had them on the podium and ultimately left them in a brilliant fourth, earning 35,000 in the process.Curran and DHF Alliance (ISH), who is owned by Jess Stallard and the Minister for Defence, added to their lengthy catalogue of success with their triumph in a 1.45m class (below).The Fenor native knows exactly what he can expect from his long-time partner now and they were fastest among a list of 68 protagonists to deliver the major ribbon once more.Fitzgerald and Fleuriske Z gave a portent of what was to come when leading an Aloga Stables and Irish 1-2 in Thursdays GP qualifier at Peelbergen, as Allen slotted into the silver medal berth with Lukaku Vd Bisschop, less than a second separating them after the jump-off.Allen and Lukaku managed to reduce the deficit by a couple of tenths of a second but were still three-quarters of a second behind Fitzgerald and Fleuriske in the Grand Prix itself, a time of 36.28 doing the business for the Kildare athlete.BREEDINGDHF ALLIANCE (ISH) 2015 Mare by Ard Vdl Douglas (KWPN) out of Rosie Bee (ISH) by Lux Z (HANN). Breeder: Paul Douglas, Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone. Owner: Jess Stallard & Minister for Defence. Rider: Commandant Geoff Curran (IRL).HHS LOS ANGELES (ISH) 2014 mare by Le Roi (ZDP) out of China Cavalier (ISH) by Cavalier Royale (HOLST). Breeder: Marion Hughes. Owner: Bravo Hughes Ltd. Rider: Michael Pender (IRL).The post Coyle the Golden boy in Miami appeared first on .