THERE was great support for the young horse qualifiers at Mullingar, with over 300 horses declared for the Young Horse Masters qualifiers on Thursday. Following some tough competition, 28 five-year-olds contested the €3,000 Five-year-old Young Horse Masters Final on the Friday of the show.

Taking the win was Niamh O’Connor Barry with her own Grennanstown Silver Service, when they delivered a double clear in 28.36 in the two-phase special class. Bred by John Flynn, the gelding is by Vivant Van De Heffenick and is out of the Iroko-sired dam, Greannanstown Douglas Cruise. This combination has been in the ribbons of late, taking the runner-up place in the Bluefrog five-year-old championship at Balmoral.

Less than a second behind was Niamh McEvoy, with Gary and Leslie Hazlewood Triple T Farms’ BP Lucky Clover, clear in 29.25. The mare was bred by GBBS Int Ltd and is by Lord Carthago and out of Arraghbeg Clover.

Charles O’Reilly Hyland partnered his own Penelope 31 to third place, with a clear in 30.78. Bred by Sean and Ronan Judge, the mare is by Mylord Carthago and is out of Diacapella Squalls Estate Z. Under the command of Leah Stack, the mare finished runner-up in the four-year-old final at Cavan.

Accounting for fourth place was Tomas Doyle and Monbeg Winston, when they came home with nothing to add in a time of 31.12. Owned by Marti Rudd and bred by Brendan Doyle, the gelding is by Winston and out of Visage Van’t Paradijs.

Junior rider Cian Byrne and the Gerald Kilbride-owned Larina Cruise slotted into fifth, when clear in 31.76. Bred by Michael Kenny, the mare is by Lock Cruise and out of Kennystown Cross.

John Mulligan and Lough Scur Hero completed the top six line-up, when they were fractions behind, clear in 31.78. Owned and bred by Seamus Tighe, the gelding is by Ganesh Hero Z and out of Lough Scur Sardiamond.

Six- and seven-year-olds

Later in the day, the Six-and seven-year-old Young Horse Masters Final took centre stage, with 29 finalists from an original field on Thursday battling it out for the €4,000 prize fund. Leading the victory lap in the two-phase decider was Carlow’s Jason Foley aboard the Abdullah Waleed Al Sharbatly-owned six-year-old, Ballyshan B F Super Hero, when double clear in 31.67. Bred by Gary Doherty, the gelding is by Celtic Hero B Z and is out of the Luz Z-sired dam, Ballyshan Luximportant. This partnership finished sixth in the RDS qualifiers the week before at The Meadows. Along with Ger O’Neill, they produced him from a five-year-old, qualifying for the RDS with O’Neill in the five-year-old division, where they won the qualifier class in Simmonscourt.

Jack Ryan came closest to catching the winner, when he partnered the seven-year-old Shes So Curious to a double clear in 32.20. Owned and bred by Penny Murphy, the mare is by Luidam and out of Luxs Curious. The mare was produced by the Murphy family, with Stephen Murphy bringing her up through the grades.

Third place belonged to Greg Broderick after he partnered his own Kalinka to a clear in 33.19. Bred by Breen Equestrian, the mare is by Cornet Obolensky and is out of Corifee 7.

Leah Stack delivered another result for Ballypatrick Stables, as she finished just fractions of a second behind Broderick. Riding the GBBS-owned seven-year-old Next Question to a double clear in 33.62. Bred by Tracy and Margaret Gallagher, the mare is by VDL Orestus and is out of Any Questions. The combination has proved successful in the aged classes, taking second in the Six/seven year-old final in Cavan in November last year.

A double clear from Seamus Hughes Kennedy and the Racecourse Farm-owned seven-year-old, Dure De Semily in 33.97, saw the Kilkenny man take fifth place. A new mount for Seamus, the gelding was bred by Paul Grindrod and is by Diamant de Semilly and is out of Aranka.

Junior rider Robert Russell completed the top six with Jane Russell’s seven-year-old, Carnlea Lui Bea, when they came home with nothing to add in a time of 34.44. This home-bred gelding is by Luidam and out of B.Zermie R4 and was previously campaigned by Edward Little, with much success, qualifying for the RDS as a six-year-old.

Four-year-olds

On Saturday, victory in the Four-year-old Championship belonged to Junior rider James Derwin aboard Jim Derwin’s Mr Priority, when judges awarded the Tyson-sired gelding a score of 86. Bred by Tony Carrabine, this was the first official outing for the pairing.

Fellow junior rider Patrick Geraghty took the runner-up spot with Uvano van t Moerke, when they finished on 82.5 points. Owned by James O’Grady and Cathal McMunn, the Belgian warmblood gelding is by Pegasus Vant Ruytershof and is out of Quitana Van Het Moerke. This was also this pairing’s first outing. Also competing in their first outing together, Dean Rogan took third place with the Frank Gordon-owned Dreamelise on a score of 81.5. Bred by her owner, the mare is by Vancouver and out of Dreampare.

Three combinations shared fourth place, when they finished on equal marks of 79: Alex Donohoe and Ballybawn Conrad, bred by Ronan Rothwell and owned by Ciara Garvey, the gelding is by Seic Livello and out of CSF Ava. Keith Moloney with Easy Peasy Indebus Z, owned by Williams Sport Horses and bred by J Thiry, the gelding is by Emerald van’t Ruytershof and out of Bumblebee Indebus Z. The last of the trio was Shane Quinn and Piamante. Owned by Cathy Cuffe, the mare is by Komme Casall TN and out of Diamante.