MAKUNA, owned by Cavan Equestrian Centre and ridden by John McEntee, won the fourth round of the SJI Autumn Grand Prix Series at the Portmore Autumn Championships last Sunday.

By Casall, out of Lady Mobilcom, by Concerto II, Makuna is 12 years old and has been partnered by McEntee since March of this year.

The pair have been fairly consistent at 1.35m and 1.40m level, and this is their first Grand Prix win.

Speaking after the win, McEntee said: “I’m absolutely delighted with her. She’s been going really well recently and she really stepped up in this class.

“She’s very straight forward to ride. She’s a real trier.

"I think I made up the time in the jump-off from the second to the third fence across the arena. I think we did one less stride than everyone else. She has a massive stride, which makes her really fast.

“I was last to go and I had already been first in on another horse, on which I ended up fourth, so I knew it was quick and just had to give it a go.

“She’ll have a bit of an easy week now and then she’ll go to the November show in Cavan.

“We were lucky that the weather wasn’t too bad in Portmore yesterday [Sunday], it was windy but okay. There was a great turnout for the show. They’ve done a job on the surface in the warm-up arena. They changed the format of some of the classes to two-phase to make sure everyone got home safe before the worst of the storm hit.”

Just half a dozen of the 19 starters managed to produce a first-round clear to progress to the jump-off.

Pathfinder

McEntee was path finder with his first mount, Sandra Duffy/Ireland Horse Sport and Leisure Ltd’s eight-year-old CSF Andrew. A new mount for McEntee, this was only the duo’s second show together; they left all the poles in place, stopping the clock at 38.00 for eventual fourth place.

Rockmount Farm’s L’Esprit Hero Z (Lexicon x For Pleasure), bred by Gerry Marron and Luc Henry and ridden Harrison Blair, was unlucky to have one fence down in a very fast time of 37.09, which would slot them into fifth place as the fastest four-faulters.

Another eight-year-old, Victoria Loane’s Dutch-bred gelding Lord of the Rings BMH (Prince van de Wolfsakker x Canturo) also had one on the ground for four faults in 38.08, which was good enough for sixth place.

Blueoak Legaland (Diamant de Semilly x Clinton), bred by Joe Reilly, owned by Joanne Morton and ridden by her daughter Abby, produced a double clear round, crossing the finish beams in 36.41 to put them into a temporary lead.

The penultimate pair in, Daren Hopkins aboard Ballywalters Stables’ Calisto Blanc (Cantolar x Cartogran), remained fault-free throughout the second round in a time of 37.32, which would be good enough for third place.

McEntee had the advantage of being last to go with Makuna. A foot-perfect clear in a superb 36.40 catapulted them into the lead and secured them the lion’s share of the €4,000 prize pot.