WITH just three runners, the entry for the EI110 open sector at Crecora last Sunday was modest, but Ian Cassells and Gorsehill Miracle could do no more than win from the front on their dressage score of 30.3.

Owned and bred by Anne Bannon, the eight-year-old was a bottle-reared orphan foal and, as a big horse, has taken time. He has pleased connections with his three runs this year, and is currently on the market. “It was good to see the cross-country show a step up in difficulty from the last fixture, which is as it should be,” said Cassells. “He has had a quiet spring due to my international overseas commitments, but we’ll tick over from here and see how we go.”

Also double clear, Daisy Trayford filled the runner-up spot with the 11-year-old thoroughbred Ermintrude (USA).

Talking horse

With 33 runners going to post, the EI110 restricted was a competitive affair and the result delivered an especially rewarding win to Noel Dunne and the precocious Kief Rhapsody of Belline. The talking horse of 2023, the Kieran Fahey-bred son of Sligo Candy Boy swept the board in the young horse classes last year, winning championships at the Stepping Stones, Balmoral and the RDS.

Now a six-year-old and owned by the very supportive John and Jenny Curley, Kief Rhapsody will head for the two-star classes at Kilguilkey and Lisgarvan, with possible selection for Le Lion D’Angers as their aim.

Having led from the front, Dunne’s win was a convincing one, but chasing all the way and just 0.5 adrift, Sian Coleman landed a smart second placing with Darren O’Connor’s Newmarket Apollo. A new ride for Coleman this year, the Brian Daly-bred seven-year-old improves on every run, and looks to be an exciting prospect.

Looking at the leaderboard, the top 10 were all double clear, but on further examination, it was clear that the cross-country asked plenty of questions. Five riders failed to complete, while isolated stops were incurred by a further three. None of these were in contention and, interestingly, the younger horses fared the best.

Third spot fell to Ian Cassells again, this time with the six-year-old AFS Ralph, while Fraser Duffy slotted into third with Carol Gee’s Lolita Do Cahim.

Ex-racehorse winner

There were eight sub-30 dressage marks in the EI100, and all bar one completed in the top eight. Places juggled a little after the show jumping, but retaining their winning dressage score of 24.8, the top spot went to Louise Bloomer aboard her brother Gerald’s thoroughbred Ballydrummond (IRE).

Lightly raced when trained by Andrew McNamara, the eight-year-old son of Valirann was the winner of the Treo Eile thoroughbred class at the Stepping Stones series back in 2022 and, since then, has been campaigned on the event circuit by Louise.

This was only his second run at the level, so this result will have been pleasing for connections, as will the second placing of DS Are You Tom, a five-year-old owned and bred by Liam Lynskey and ridden by Alyssa O’Neill. A young horse winner at Balmoral earlier this year, he is by Lynskey’s Holstein stallion DS Are You With Me out of Carlton Fizz, by Cruising. Patricia Ryan, who was in second after dressage, picked up a time fault, so slipped to third with her home-bred seven-year-old The Outlaw.

The cross-country proved far more straightforward here, with only one of the 30 starters picking up a jumping penalty.