Margie McLoone

GALWAY rider Cathal Daniels and his father Gerry covered plenty of miles last weekend, paying their first ever visit to Loughanmore on Saturday and their third this year to Lisgarvan on Sunday.

Between times, they travelled home to their Callatra Stables outside Loughrea, picking up five horses including John Clarke’s HTS Tommy K who landed the seven-runner CNCJ* here on his debut at this level.

Having won the dressage phase (28.5), the seven-year-old Rhyne Clover gelding finished on 36.3, leaving him over six points clear of his nearest rival Versace Biscuit (42.6) who was ridden by Isabelle Odlum. HTS Tommy K, who has 28 SJI points, will compete in junior one-star classes for the remainder of the season.

While Daniels said they had arrived home the previous night around 11.30pm following their 4.30am start, his father Gerry gave a full account of the rider’s very long day.

“Once we had the Loughanmore horses unloaded and stabled,” he related, “I went to bed while Cathal rode the five we have here today. We set off at 4.30 again this morning and Cathal slept the whole way.”

Hannah Adams and her father Michael’s Toberpatrick Flash were third of three after dressage and show jumping in the CNCP**. However, the Maynooth combination were the only ones to come home without cross-country jumping penalties, their 7.6 time penalties seeing them win on 49.1.

The flatwork winners, Alex Power and Theo Jackson, had a glance-off at the hedge skinny second element at 17, while Zara Nelson and Millridge Buchaill Bui picked up their 20 jumping penalties at 12, the ash parallel.

The optimum time ruling prevented Nelson being compensated in the CNCP*, where she and Knockbordan Revelation completed on the same score (28.5) as the winners, Katie Fitzgerald Madigan and New Dungarvan. This was a first one-star success for the Thurles rider and her mother Vera’s eight-year-old dun gelding.

While her father Edward was saddling Hell Cat Maggie to win the mares’ handicap hurdle at Listowel, Mimi O’Grady finished third on her dressage score of 29 with Rosog Rusty.

Up from Mallow, Michael Patrick claimed his third Junior C of the campaign with his mother Jane’s Ashraw High Flyer who, in completing on his winning first phase score of 25.5, scored by a point from Ballylynch Sky High (Alison Crampton). The nine-year-old black British-bred gelding is by the exceptionally good-looking thoroughbred Rainbow High out of the Welsh Section D mare Maesnewydd Marian.

The excellent season of Ballacolla’s Billie-Mae Geoghegan and Mark Devitt’s Kruserlier gelding Skylark Kruise continued at Lisgarvan where they won their fourth Pony C of the year on their dressage score of 26. The seven-year-old can obviously handle any going as the pair were also successful here in late April.