THE annual Cheltenham countdown is a reminder of the parallels between thoroughbred and sport horse breeding.

Debates over purpose-bred Gold Cup horses, off-the-flat Triumph Hurdle contenders, picking commercial stallions and then those horses that defy traditional National Hunt pedigrees are as much a part of the National Hunt breeding world, as in eventing.

And then hoping for the all-important owners with patience and deep purses, in-form trainers and jockeys.

The same debate could take place after looking at the top horses and sires from the latest British Eventing (BE) results which sees four Irish-breds were in the top-10 horses. The BE sire rankings contained good results too, particularly for Courage II and Shannondale Sarco.

WEG gold medal champion Allstar B was naturally BE’s leading horse last year and the Ephebe Forever Dutch-bred led a one-two for rider Ros Canter, as her other top horse Zenshera is second .

There are four Irish-breds in the 2018 top-10, one more than 2017 and two less than 2016. Leading the quartet is Ballaghmor Class (third), followed by Swallow Springs (fifth), Quarrycrest Echo (seventh) and Ringwood Sky Boy (ninth). The breeding honours were divided around the counties between the late Noel Hickey (Limerick), Maria Keating (Galway), John Dooley (Donegal) and the late Myles Mahon (Wexford), respectively.

A serious claim could also be made for Mr Chunky (fourth) if the ‘Irish Granny’ rule, that has existed since Jack Charlton sought out eligible players for the Irish international football squad, applied.

Ironically, the British-bred Mr Chunky is the sole top-10 horse bred on traditional lines. By Jumbo, BE’s all-time leading sire, his pedigree has a strong Irish Draught and Thoroughbred background and Padraig McCarthy’s dual silver medal-winner is one of several World Equestrian Games team horses to figure prominently in the BE leading horses list.

Quarrycrest Echo, Piggy French’s horse on the British gold medal team at Tryon, is another Irish-bred in the top-10, alongside the best-placed Irish Sport Horse, Ballaghmor Class. Fifth with Oliver Townend in Badminton and runner-up at Burghley, (which will both run as newly-classified five-star events this year), the Co Limerick-bred grey was the best of Courage II’s British runners last season.

Ballaghmor Class is one of four horses, (Allstar B, Zenshera and Toledo de Kerser are the other three), to hold his top-10 place for a second year. Bred for Cheltenham, Artic Soul, third in 2017, lies just outside last year in 11th place.

Swallow Springs, ridden by Andrew Nicholson, was third at Burghley, one place behind Ballaghmor Class, and another good result, when second at Bramham CCI3*, elevates the 11-year-old to the BE top-10 placings. Burghley and Badminton results were certainly influential in the leading horse results with both respective winners; Ringwood Sky Boy, whose big payday finally came at Burghley and Classic Moet featuring well on the BE leaderboard.

COURAGE TO THE FORE

Classic Moet is both the only mare and thoroughbred-sired horse in the top-10 last year, while there are no thoroughbred sires in the top-10 of either the BE points (for Novice grade upward runners) or young horse (four to eight-year-olds) categories.

In the BE points table, Courage II retains his top place for another year and Kedrah House Stud’s Holsteiner is one of four Irish-based stallions in the top-10, two horses less than last year. Also in the frontline are Ars Vivendi (fifth), newcomer and sole living Irish sire amongst this group, Chillout (ninth), and then Harlequin du Carel (10th).

The annual amicable custody battle over Ramiro B (third) takes place again with the Belgian-bred stallion having progeny on both sides of the Irish Sea. However, with the majority of his Grade I (BE-registered horses with 60-plus points) foaled here, it would be fair to say they contributed the bulk of his offspring’s tally.

The Harthill Stud stallion, like Ars Vivendi and Harlequin du Carel, was another loss to breeders last year but will have his British-born progeny coming up through the ranks for several more years.

He also achieved the ultimate goal of any eventing stallion in what sadly proved to be his swansong year by producing a four-star winner when the John Hagan-bred Cooley Master Class won North America’s sole four-star event in Kentucky last April.

Another of Townend’s Ramiro B string, Cooley SRS, the Badminton runner-up, has since been sold for Australian rider Hazel Shannon to compete.

In all, 50% of the young horse (four to eight-year-olds) sires division are Irish-based stallions. This table was headed for the third year by the Trakehner sire Grafenstolz, the six-year-old champion at Le Lion d’Angers in 2004 with Michael Jung. Popular with British breeders, the bulk of his progeny’s points to date are at BE90 and BE100 foundation level but this is still enough to see Grafenstolz hold top place in the overall sires table for all combined levels.

Irish stallions with younger progeny coming through the ranks and that will hopefully progress from novice chase to Gold Cup five-star material are Shannondale Sarco (second), Ars Vivendi (fourth), Lancelot (fifth), Womanizer (eighth) and Mermus R (10th).

Again, there is no thoroughbred stallion in this top-10 group and it is unlikely one will appear before the timelag between the demise of previous leading lights in these rankings, such as Master Imp, Ghareeb and Cult Hero, and any would-be successors takes place.

Breeding a Gold Cup or five-star event horse is still the ‘holy grail’ for many, however, there is a quicker return and more constant turnover for those aiming for young event horse classes and lower level markets. Horses for courses, as the British Eventing results and rankings have once again shown.

TOP-10 IRISH-BREDS

3 - BALLAGHMOR CLASS (2007. Courage II (HOLST) – Kilderry Place, by Young Convinced (TB). Breeder: Noel Hickey.

5 - SWALLOW SPRINGS (2008. Chillout (ISH) – Kilila, by Cult Hero (TB). Breeder: Maria Keating.

7 - QUARRYCREST ECHO (2007. Clover Echo (ISH) – Royal China, by Cavalier Royale. Breeder: John Dooley.

9 - RINGWOOD SKY BOY (2003. Courage II (HOLST) – Sky Lassie, by Sky Boy (TB). Breeder: Myles Mahon.