Margie McLoone

PAUL Donovan brought eight horses from his Sportsfield Horses yard near Fethard to Forth Mountain on Wednesday for the RDS young event horse qualifier and won Section B of the five-year-olds with the Darragh Byrne-ridden LCC Vogue.

As his name would suggest, this Kroongraaf gelding, who secured the win through his clear jumping round and top suitability and potential score, was first produced by Linda Courtney from whom Donovan purchased the bay around Christmas time. LCC Vogue was bred in Co Tipperary by Kate Fogarty out of the Cavalier Royale mare Clear Cavalier.

“This is a nice horse who could do well for me in Dublin if I haven’t sold him before that!” said Donovan. “I brought some nice five-year-olds here today and have a lot of four-year-olds at home but you don’t find that many suitable for a competition like this; they really have to be riding very well on the flat to make their mark.

“A couple of mine just failed to qualify today. I’ll bring them and some others to Rincoola next week (Wednesday) and if they qualify they do, and if they don’t they don’t. I don’t see myself heading up to Tullymurry but you never know,” Donovan concluded.

Crecora-based Dominic Furnell has his horses in excellent form and following his good performance at Tattersalls over the weekend, qualified for Dublin in second place here with his mother Amelia’s Knockahunna French Twist.

The French Buffet gelding, who has a win and some top placed form to his credit in Eventing Ireland pre-novice classes, was also bred in Co Tipperary, this time by Teresa Cairns out of her Crosstown Dancer mare Crosstown Ruby.

A third horse qualified in this section, the six-year-old DSL Lucy Lou who had a filly foal in 2014 by Golden Master. The Luidam mare is owned in partnership by her breeders, Lars and Caroline Bjoerk, and Diarmuid O’Brien who rode her on Wednesday.

In Section A, Sarah Ennis scored a runaway success on husband Niki Potterton’s Canturo gelding Cooley Cosmopolitan Diamond whose eye-catching clear round followed a ridden display which saw him receive 163.50 points from Catherine Woods.

As has so often been mentioned in these pages this year, the bay gelding was bred by Co Kildare veterinary surgeon Katy Murphy out of the Master Imp mare BM Barbie Doll. Ennis is surprised each time she goes out on the bay as he is so willing and nothing appears to faze him.

Ann O’Grady’s constant reminders to herself around the twisting track paid off as she qualified in second place with her home-bred Tinaranas Inspector gelding Ballingowan Euphoria. His dam, Ballingowan Boula (another by Master Imp), is a half-sister to the international three-star eventer Ivar Gooden (by Young Convinced).

Owner Lawrence Patterson and rider Katy MacKenzie were pleased that their journey down from Ballynahinch paid off when Drumnaconnell Nico took an RDS ticket in third place.

This Heritage Fortunus gelding, who was bred by Austin Quigley, is out of an unraced Pistolet Bleu half-sister to Relic Rock, the winner of two bumpers and second in the champion bumper at Aintree, and to Sutton Manor who, having finished second for Colin Bowe in a point-to-point maiden at Lingstown in March last year, was sold into the Willie Mullins yard for £125,000.