BEGINNERS’ luck and a long-awaited ambition came through in The Irish Field Breeders Championship yesterday for winning owners Bridget Devaney and Richard Drohan. In the opening show jumping section, Mayo’s winning streak in Ring 1 continued when Bridget Devaney’s mare Emme and her Hardrock Z colt were called forward as champions.

This was Bridget’s first time to enter the Breeders Championship and, as the Killala owner wasn’t at Dublin, her finalist pair, which had qualified at Athlone, was left in the capable hands of Des McDonnell and his son Paul.

Earlier in the day, Paul’s brother Jonathan had led up Tiernan Gill’s three-year-old and overall filly champion Flogas Penelope in the Laidlaw Cup young horse championship which she duly won too.

Reserve champion in the Breeders Championship show jumping final went to Kildysart owner Dermot O’Sullivan, who had won the final in its previous format eight years ago with his Aidensfield Flamenco. This time, his winning combination was the Cornet Obolensky-sired HHS Cornetta Royale and her filly by Querida VG Z.

In third was another combination that had also qualified at West Clare Show: Michael Egan’s Oakfield Sweet Heart, by Womanizer and her DS Shotgun colt.

Fourth place went to Breeders Championship ‘frequent’ flyer: Derry Rothwell’s Greenhall Catwalk (Mermus R) and her Dignified van’t Zorgvliet filly, while fifth in the Yves Gay and Andrew Spalding-judged final was John Roche’s Assagart Faithful (Coroner) and another filly, this time by Carrabis Z.

Eventing section

In the following eventing section, it was a dream win for Waterford owner Richard Drohan, who had supported this championship since it began back in 1985. He finally cracked the Breeders Championship with his aptly-named Golden Moments, by Golden Master, and her News Anchor colt foal, having qualified at Charleville. Plans were underway for a celebration in Rathgormack, where Richard is a shareholder in the The Village pub, which had faced closure during lockdown before the local initiative to save their local.

The eventing section reserve champion was Yvonne Pearson’s Kief Queen B, by Munther and Temperance, her Rosier filly and in third was Paula Howard’s Dernahatten Out Of Touch, by Bienamado and Timpany Tiger Two, her colt by Tiger Attack. Both northern finalists had booked their Breeders Championship places at the first qualifier at Armagh County.

In fourth was Paddy and Richard Gildea’s Miss Cranny Lancelot (Lancelot) and Lewis, the second of two Rosier foals in this prize-winning line-up and fifth place went to Mary Rothwell’s JVK Lady Marmalade with a Greenhall filly at foot.

Full report in next week’s issue.