THERE seemed little point in asking Fraser Duffy about future plans for the Eventing Ireland EI100 champion Sligo Candy Royal as owner Carol Gee could have sold the six-year-old before our conversation had ended.

However, for the record, Duffy considers the brown Sligo Candy Boy gelding to be “a very beautiful horse who, if not sold, might try a one-star before the end of the year”. The champion, who was winning for the second time in five EI starts, was bred out of the Cavalier Royale mare Karcay by the Howleys who stand the sire and did a bit of show jumping with Sligo Candy Royal last year.

Duffy did however have plenty to say about the pre-novice cross-country track at Kilguilkey House. “It was a really good course and perfect for a national championship at this level. There were some difficult-looking skinnies but they rode well because of where they were placed and the fact that there were trees on both sides which helped the younger horses.”

Tim Downes and Joan Ahern judged the dressage phase where the penalty marks ranged from 30.9 to 38.2.

Lee Maher, who won this championship last year on Hunters Hunters Firefly, held the first two places with Gorsehill King (30.9) and TM Irelands Kingdom (31). However, the former had two show jumps down and the latter had one fence down in a phase where only five clear rounds were recorded over the up-to-height show jumping track in the grass ring. These included Duffy with Sligo Candy Royal, who took over the lead on 31.6, and Allan McSweeney, who improved into second with CSF Balladeer Hotshot (31.9).

The latter combination was one of just two to run into trouble across the country on Sunday, retiring following two refusals at the Packman Pizza Mounds at seven, while Olivia Holohan omitted fence 11, the eyebrow, with Ballinaclough Caruso.