BESSBROOK’s Patrick Collins likes to keep a low profile but he travelled down to the RDS last Friday as a Stowaway two-year-old he had bred was in line for supreme youngstock honours having taken the two-year-old title the previous day.

The bay gelding was shown by top handler Shirley Hurst for Banbridge exhibitor John Donaghy who just loves to have a champion at the Dublin Horse Show.

Much of the home work with the horse was done by Catherine Keenan, a member of the hard-working ladies’ committee at the Co Down point-to-points in Loughbrickland.

Coming up against the best Irish Sport Horse yearlings and three-year-olds in the country, the thoroughbred was the top choice of the section judges, British bloodstock agent Charlie Gordon-Watson and Luis Alvarez Cervera who competed for Spain in both eventing and show jumping.

The former said that their champion “stood out a mile,” while Alvarez Cervera agreed, adding that he had all the attributes they were looking for being athletic, balanced and well-behaved. (See pic A59)

They were also impressed by their reserve, and champion filly, Rebecca Monahan’s Notalot who, while also two, was a completely different breed type being by a Dutch Warmblood stallion out of a Holstein-sired mare.

Delighted

John Donaghy was delighted, as was Collins who was accompanied to the show by son Sean.

All gathered around for the prize-winning photographs with the magnificent Laidlaw Cup and the horse didn’t seem to mind being held in the ring as the others departed.

While the Stowaway gelding was making his seasonal debut at Dublin, he had been shown before, finishing second in the inaugural yearling show at last year’s November National Hunt Sale in Tattersalls.

He then had to settle for second place behind a Robin De Champs gelding consigned by Jim Hannan.

The Dublin champion is out of the French-bred mare Fitanga (by Fijar Tango). Her first six foals were born in France and four of them have won including the mare Tangaspeed (by Vertical Speed), who recorded two listed wins among her four victories on the flat, and the Jimble brothers Tango Jim and Jim Tango who both won over jumps in this country.

Surviving Tango (by Daliapour), the mare’s Irish-born produce, never ran but has had three fillies by Stowaway, while Once And Always, her first Irish-bred runner, won a handicap hurdle at Limerick in March in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud.

Following the show at Tattersalls last November, the Stowaway gelding was knocked down to Harold Kirk for €42,000 but he doesn’t appear to have moved far from home which was good news for the canny Donaghy.