AN unnamed three-year-old gelding by Cornetini was crowned champion young horse at the Tattersalls Ireland July Show last Sunday.

It’s surprising that the numbers in this section of the show haven’t increased more over the years, but some of the top producers are more than happy for horses to make their debuts here and such was the case with the 2024 champion.

Loch Bui Lady’s Lass, a chesnut filly by Boleybawn Alvaro, who was shown by Paddy Cleary for Mark Whitney, was the first winner selected in the Pillo Hotel-sponsored Ring 2 by judge Cyril O’Hara, a regular consignor of thoroughbred horses at the Co Meath venue.

Crossgar’s Tim Martin, and his support crew, brought down the newcomer River Lagan for the two-year-old colts’ and geldings’ class and this bay gelding by Lagans OBOS Quality took the red, ahead of Declan and Sheila Condell’s chesnut gelding by Rosier.

Like Martin, Co Wexford’s John Roche is a staunch supporter of the young horse classes here and usually leaves with a win to his credit. However, such was not the case on Sunday, as his Assagart Higher Hopes, a home-bred black daughter of Jack The Robin, had to settle for second in the two-year-old fillies’ class behind the Irish Draught filly Malahow Graces Legacy. This Moylough Legacy chesnut was shown by her north Co Dublin owner, Lisa Baker.

Maynooth’s Máire McGreevy had a good day, as she won the three-year-old fillies’ class with her home-bred bay Honey Clover Crest, whose full-sister, Cavalier Clover Crest, was second in the yearling class. The pair are by Castle Crest out of the Ballintogher Leo mare, Mc G Clover.

Home-bred

The three-year-old geldings’ class was the best supported of the day and it was here that O’Hara found his champion and reserve.

Among those forward were two geldings that John Bannon has qualified for the three-year-old potential event horse class at Dublin, Good Call (by Lagans OBOS Quality) and Hugo (by Rock ‘N Rock Ter Putte). While he is very much hoping to continue his good record at Dublin with the pair, here they had to settle for third and fourth behind Ambrose Irwin’s unnamed Cornetini bay and Nanina di Brita’s Mister Ballinacoola, who were then crowned champion and reserve. The champion was home-bred by his Co Monaghan owner Ambrose Irwin out of the unraced thoroughbred mare Castleblayney Betty, a daughter of Conduit and a half-sister to two winners.

“I bought the dam of this fellow and a Valiraan filly as foals, with the intention of selling them at one of the store sales,” revealed Irwin. “Covid then intervened, so I decided to breed sport horses out of them instead.

The Valiraan has since died, but the Conduit has also bred a Phenomene Bleu filly (2022) and a Corporal VDL colt (2023).

“My son Daniel would usually show the horses for me, but he’s on holiday in the States at present, so I asked Davy (Lyons), who’s a good friend of mine and has seen the horse a few times at our place, to show him here today. Daniel will be back for Dublin.”

The reserve champion, Mister Ballinacoola, was also home-bred by Nanina di Brita out of a thoroughbred mare, in this instance the once-raced Princessofdiamonds. The bay, who won the Carr & Day & Martin turn-out award, is by the Tullabeg Stud-based Belgian Warmblood stallion Dignified van’t Zorgvliet, sire also of the show’s ridden hunter champion, Solsboro Zeus.

“The three-year-old geldings were a lovely bunch of horses, it was the best class of the day and it was hard to split them,” said O’Hara.

“I only judge at three or four shows a year and it’s a joy to be asked, especially when there are nice horses. What was good about today was seeing some young amateurs showing their own horses. I explained to a couple what they were doing wrong and they seemed pleased that I did.”