KILLENAULE’s Padraig Harrington gave himself an early 17th birthday present as he topped an all-male filled podium following his win on Tullabeg Vision in the Bit-Media CNCJ1* national championship at Tattersalls last weekend.

A fifth year student at Rockwell College, Harrington and his mother Elaine’s skewbald gelding were only lying fourth after dressage (32). However, they found themselves in the lead when the flat phase winners on 29.3, Emily McQuade and Bright Side, had a fence down show jumping, as did Jim Tyrrell and Rock Gift, who moved on to 34.5, while Megan Telford-Kelly and Mr Chocolate, who were on 31.5, left all the poles intact but picked up four time penalties.

Only one of the 21 combinations who started on Sunday had a problem in jumping and that was when the Gemma Chambers-partnered Lisnavaragh Legend activated the Min pin at nine, the first water.

Harrington and Tullabeg Vision were among four pairings who picked up time penalties on the final leg but the addition of 0.8 still left them with a bit of room to spare over Tyrrell and Rock Gift who were home clear and beat the clock. Happily for Ben Rowlatt-McCormick, his 0.4 of a cross-country time penalty didn’t affect his third place finish on Mon Ami Alme (35.9), while the highest-placed female rider was Sofie Walsh who completed on her dressage score (36.1), in fourth with Kinsau.

Harrington, who is trained in all three disciplines by Fergal Nesbitt, has had a good season with Tullabeg Vison, this being their fourth CNCJ1* success of the campaign.

“I might run him in the intermediate at Grove and then hopefully do more two-star classes with him next year,” said Harrington of his winner. The nine-year-old was bred by Nicholas Cousins who stands the gelding’s sire, Tullabeg Fusion, in Co Wexford. He is a full-brother to Tullabeg Flamenco who, on his first three-star outing, finished 12th of 53 in the CIC3* at Millstreet last month.