THERE was a double on the day for the thoroughbred stallion September Storm who used to stand at the Ballyash Stud outside Banbridge but is now based at Knockhouse Stud in Co Kilkenny.

The first success for the German-bred sire came in the 26-runner EI100 class where September Son, ridden for Georgia Stubington by her daughter Lucca, completed on his dressage score of 28.5 penalties. Also finishing on his first phase score to place second was the Anita Doherty-ridden Powder Day (29.5), a seven-year-old gelding who is now on the market.

On a frustrating day for Steven Smith, he led after the flat phase with Handsome Starr (28) but the good-looking bay, who is also by September Storm, was yet another of the Gilford rider’s mounts to lower one of the coloured poles and drop to third.

A seven-year-old, September Son only started eventing this year and was making his seventh appearance on Saturday. He was bred in Northern Ireland by Alan Steele out of the point-to-point-winning mare Regal Pageant (by Welsh Term). The bay was trained in Scotland by former Irish international event rider (and amateur jockey) Ian Duncan but displayed no enthusiasm for racing in four outings and was retired in the spring of 2016.

On his fourth start, the Lucy Hanna-owned and ridden home-bred Rock Storm landed the 32-runner EI90 class on his winning dressage score (25.5). A pole down show jumping proved expensive for David O’Connor and House Elf who dropped to fifth (31.5) from second following the first phase as the remainder of the top 10 all completed on their flat work marks.

Rock Storm, a five-year-old bay son of September Storm, is out of the Hannas’ Anglo European Studbook-registered mare Renkum Britannia who has had variety of consorts over the years.

Registered as Irish Sport Horses are two much older progeny by Touchdown and a 2017 colt by Billys Clover. Registered with the AES are a 2006 foal by the American thoroughbred Samraan and foals in 2008 and 2009 by the Connemara Builder’s Delight.

Renkum Britannia is by Oakhurst True Brit (by Renkum Englishman) out of the Renkum Lancelot mare Renkum Meranta so she is in-bred to the mare Renkum Woudina (by Nimmerdor), best known in this country as dam of the five-star jumping stallion Ringfort Cruise (by Cruising) and the aforementioned Renkum Englishman.