JESSICA Burke scored her second championship win of the Dublin Horse Show when victorious in the Six-Year-Old Cruising National Championship with Castlelawn Captain Junior. Triumphant in last Saturday afternoon’s Mo Chroi Four-Year-Old National Championship, Burke ensured the early start on Sunday morning was well worthwhile when victorious in the Horse Sport Ireland €10,000 class.

Second to go in a six-horse decider, Burke came home fractionally quicker than the original leader Kevin Gallaher and set an unassailable target of a clear round in a time of 38.15 seconds.

Burke said: “I’ve never won a championship in Dublin before and of course you are always hoping, but to go and win two is just unbelievable. I’d really like to thank the owners of the horses for the support.”

Burke continued: “There has always been a lot thought of Castlelawn Captain Junior and he’s answering all those questions now. He has a great attitude and his record is unbelievable – he jumps a lot of clear rounds. He’s very consistent and very careful. Lanaken is the main thing now and winning on Sunday guarantees selection, we had aimed at the Irish Studbook Series with that in mind and he is winning the league but it takes the pressure off and he can have a little break now.”

The stallion does indeed have an exceptional record to date. Familiar with the Dublin Horse Show, Castlelawn Captain Junior has been in attendance since his four-year-old year and last season he was the winner of the HSI Five-Year-Old Irish Studbook Series as well as representing Ireland at the World Breeding Championships at Lanaken with a runner-up finish in the Five-Year-Old Consolation final and taking a top-four finish in the Cavan Crystal Classic.

Bred by Elizabeth Gallagher, Gabriel Slattery’s Castlelawn Captain Junior is by Captain Clover out of the Diamond Lad-sired dam Diroe. This damline has already produced Bahrain Silver (SJ 1.50m), Luxroe (SJ 1.40m) and Carragher (SJ 1.40m). Currently standing at Castlelawn Stud, the stallion’s eldest crop are three-year-olds this year, and the stud has fresh semen readily available. Kevin Gallagher had set the time to beat at 38.21 with Declan McGarry’s Kilarado. By Diarado out of the Clover Hill-sired Coumroe Clover Queen, the gelding had shown good form already in the main RDS arena with a runner-up finish in Wednesday’s opening qualifier.

Jenny Rankin took the yellow rosette on the day as the only other double clear with Sea Topblue. The penultimate combination in the clocked round, Rankin and the Chaccoa Blue-sired gelding crossed the line in 42.98.

Darragh Ryan, as last to go with the Kroongraaf-sired Lackamore Storm, knew exactly where the shortcuts home were and wasted no time putting them to use. Looking on touch to steal the victory, Ryan stopped the clock in a very fast time of 38.03 but faulted on the home stretch.

Ger O’Neill was put out of contention early when lowering the first fence aboard the Toulon mare Columbcille Gipsy. His time of 41.84 would prove good enough for eventual fifth place. Completing the top six were Liam O’Meara and Kannon Clover, unlucky when incurring eight faults in 45.69.