Things are really hotting up at the top of the four-year-old league where Kilcannon Merlin and Lux Aventi are sharing the lead on 14 points, two ahead of Kilgarron Quality who, in turn, is two clear of Westwinds MacKenzie.
Sarah Ennis, rider of the last-named, had no horses at Ravensdale Lodge and will be in Aachen for the eventing Nations’ Cup with the FEHL graduate Stellor Rebound when the final leg of the series takes place at Tullymurry next Wednesday.
Eye-catching
Sean Reynolds’s eye-catching Lux Aventi was bred by Michael Quirke who stands the bay gelding’s sire, Ars Vivendi, at his Ballymureen Stud in Littleton. Lux Aventi, who was second to his former stable-companion BLS All Inclusive at Balmoral, is out of the Olympic Lux mare Wood Side.
Jackson’s mount, who recorded one of 10 clear jumping rounds in the 25-runner class, completed on a total of 317 points having topped the marks (31.5) of the jumping suitability and potential judge, Norman Allen.
Margaret Creighton, who most obligingly stood in for the scheduled Ken Parkhill at short notice, assessed all horses forward for conformation and in trot-up. She gave the Lux Aventi and the fifth-placed Kilcannon Merlin, an A Guidam M gelding ridden for Mary Bolger by Jason Higgins, her top score of 23.5.
Jackie Doherty reserved her best flat marks (27.5) for the second-placed Kilgarron Quality, a chesnut OBOS Quality 004 gelding ridden by Neil Wrynn for Fiona O’Reilly who completed on 313.
Qualification
Wednesday’s first qualifying ticket for Dublin went to Camelia McDowell’s Cornasciebe Womanizer who, ridden by Colin Halliday, topped the marks (100) of the ridden display judge David Patterson to complete on 312 for third.
Bred by Carol Armstrong, the bay Womanizer gelding is out of the Cavalier Royale mare Cornascriebe Royale who comes from the family of Mary King’s three-star event ride MHS King Joules and Greg Broderick’s three-star jumper MHS Going Global among others.
Jackson qualified for the RDS with the sixth-placed Ardglen Diva Dancer, a chesnut Ghareeb mare who was bred by her owner, Seamus McGilliion, out of a Crosstown Dancer mare.