JUST over an hour after her three-year old Assagart Lord Lancer had won the Laidlaw Cup young horse championship for her Foulksmills connections, John and Mary Margaret Roche’s Assagart My Only Hope repeated her 2014 The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship.

The Big Sink Hope mare had won this combination championship back in 2014 with her future Laidlaw champion at foot and, coincidentally, her colt foal at foot, Assagart Hopes Are High, is a full-brother to the young horse champion as both are by Castleforbes Lord Lancer.

While the Roche family are seasoned finalists, it was Banner County newcomers Brendan and Aidan O’Sullivan who took the reserve place with their young mare Miss Cranny Lancelot and her March-foaled O.B.O.S Quality filly. Roche had bought his winning mare from the pair’s brother Dermot O’Sullivan at Limerick Show back in 2013.

Taking third place in the Jens Meyer and Harm Thormahlen-judged final was Mayo couple Martin and Mary Murphy’s Frenchfort Black Beauty with a filly foal by Sligo Candy Boy. Margaret Jeffares’s Ballykelly Notalot was the second five-year-old in the top-four and the former Dublin young horse champion placed fourth with her Diamant de Semilly colt Ballykelly Mistral de Semilly.

Derry Rothwell’s Millenium Cruise was the highest-placed of his three combinations when the former champion was fifth with her Dignified Van’t Zorglieft colt Greenhall Limited Edition.

Full report in next week’s issue