BRITAIN’s Richard Oliver was delighted to see the good results of Irish-bred horses at the fixture in Arville, Belgium, fondly recalling past connections with Clonroche’s horseman Herbie Deacon.

According to Richard, Herbie, now in his eighties, sold him many good horses over the years and he follows them all as best as he can through the international results.

“Herbie is one of the best horsemen I have ever seen or dealt with over the years. People like Herbie are a treasure to find. I got a lot of good horses from Herbie over the years,” said Richard.

The CIC2* was won by Sweden’s Ludwig Svennerstal on an 11-year-old Dutch-bred gelding Camelot (by Namelus) while Australia’s Sam Griffiths was second on the 13-year-old gelding Sea Summer Bay (by Summer At Saratoga out of Laughton View by Into The West), owned by Richard and sourced through Herbie.

And there were more great results for Irish-bred horses at Arville with the 13-year-old chesnut mare Gurtera Cher (Touchdown out of Princess Hoft by unknown), bred by Steven O’Donoghue, ridden by Griffiths to a win in the CIC3* at Arville for owners The Kim and Imogen Syndicate, Rod Bennett and Sue Bennett.