From press release from LONGINES CSI BASEL

Denis Lynch triumphed in Saturday's CSI5* 1.50m Championat of the city of Basel – the Golden Drum of Basel. Aboard Cristello (Numero Uno x Voltaire), the Irish rider left Austria's Max Kühner to second place and Switzerland's Bryan Balsiger to third.

Eleven pairs qualified for the jump-off, among them were two young Swiss riders: 22-year-old Bryan Balsiger with Jenkins ter Doorn (Numero Uno x Sir Lui) and 28-year-old Audrey Geiser with Holiday X (Liandero x Furioso II). 

Italian rider Alberto Zorzi with Vauban du Trio (Nervoso x Desir du Chateau) was the first rider to set a quick clear in 39.47 seconds. However, Balsiger and his Belgian-bred gelding took a lot of risk and were rewarded with a time of 38.95 seconds. Immediately after, Max Kühner was another half-second quicker with Alfa Jordan (Air Jordan x Lancelot). Kühner's lead was also short-lived, as Denis Lynch put on a brilliant round with the Dutch stallion Cristello and was rewarded with the new best time of 36.80 seconds. 

French rider Simon Delestre missed the mark by over two seconds with Qopilot Batilly Z (Qlassic Bois Margot x Cabdula du Tillard) – slotting into fourth between Balsiger and Zorzi. 

"I've only had the horse with me for six weeks," Lynch commented. "I had a good feeling in the jump-off, Cristello took part with confidence. I wanted to turn as tight as possible, which worked out fine. A big praise to the show, there was again a great atmosphere and the conditions were top as always."