LOCALLY based Louise Codd performed a near miracle at Wexford Equestrian on Tuesday as she prevented Sarah Ennis totally dominating the Childeric Saddles young event horse classes during this third assessment day of the Stepping Stones to Success league.

True, Ennis partnered the top three horses in the five-year-old section. However, in the four-year-old division, the Co Meath rider had to settle for second and third behind Codd on Trevor Horgan’s Hidden Eclipse who narrowly topped the final leaderboard on 194.8 points.

“He was beautifully produced by Louise and is a quality young horse with great presence and expression,” commented Sally Parkyn, the Irish Horse World’s eventing and sales correspondent who judged the jumping phases along with her husband, Shaun, and head judge, Ian Fearon.

The combined delight of the winning owner and rider was surpassed by that of the gelding’s Co Tipperary breeder Caitriona Morrissey, a former editor of the Irish Horse World section of The Irish Field who is now news editor of this publication’s sister paper, the Irish Farmers Journal.

“I was over the moon when I saw the result!” said Morrissey. “He is the first foal I ever bred and is traditionally bred being by the thoroughbred Chinook Eclipse out of the Templebready Fear Bui mare Templebready Jocelyn. She was bred by my husband, Richie, out of a Flagmount King mare he used to hunt.

“Alice Copithorne and Shannon Sheridan evented Jocelyn as a six- and seven-year-old and, while we had no plans to breed from her then, I was pregnant with my first child (now five-year-old Thomas, brother to Tadhg who was three last Sunday) so we started looking around for a thoroughbred stallion to use. Trevor (Horgan) bought Hidden Eclipse from me as a foal and he has very kindly kept in touch since so I’m delighted for him that the horse won.”

Now 13 years of age, Templebready Jocelyn has bred only one other foal to date, Poulatar Eclipse, a two-year-old full-brother to Tuesday’s winner. That colt was purchased by Mick Lynch who owned Chinook Eclipse. “She won’t go in foal with a foal at foot,” explained Morrissey. “As Chinook Eclipse died last year, we had to look for another thoroughbred stallion so we are waiting on her now to foal to Munther.”

There was little between the Codd-ridden winner and the Sarah Ennis-partnered runner-up, Zena Ryle’s very consistent Cool Diamond Star gelding Ardeo Grand Slam (194.6), who had been second and joint-first on his two previous trips down to Co Wexford. Hidden Eclipse topped the jumping scores on 142.5 while Liam Maloney’s winner of the dressage phase on 55.2 was the Sligo Candy Boy gelding Big Red (David Raeburn) who later dropped down the rankings.

A bit further adrift in third came Greenhall Standfast (191.1) who is produced by Ennis for Co Wicklow owner, and groom, Joan O’Connor. A bay gelding by Dignified van’t Zorgvliet, this Derry Rothwell-bred four-year-old is out of the Porsch mare Greenhall Wendi, a half-sister to Greenhall Sport Horses’ home-bred Crosstown Dancer stallion Greenhall and from the family of one of the rising stars on the British showing scene, Greenhall Treasure Island. Greenhall Standfast is on the market.

Ennis unbeatable

Three days after winning an EI100 at Tyrella on a penalty score of 6.5 penalties with O’Connor’s former Stepping Stones league winner, Greenhall Granuaile, Sarah Ennis filled the top three places in Tuesday’s Childeric five-year-old class on a trio of ISH geldings.

What more can we say about the Batterstown rider? Well, we have nothing to add to the comment of Sally Parkyn: “Sarah does a superb job. Her horses are produced to perfection and it’s hard to fault them.”

Ennis’ winner, for the second week running, was Wendy Harris’ Colandro bay Silken Icon (197.7) while her runner-up, for the second week running, was Eilish Arkwright and Sarah Oldum’s Tullabeg Fusion grey Diamond Fusion (192.9). Six days earlier, there had been a three-point gap between the Helen Troughton-bred winner, who is out of the Coronea Eagle mare Silken Twist, and his Bryan Maguire-bred stable-companion who is out of Expectation (by Coevers Diamond Boy).

Ennis finished third on Tuesday with Heritage Laccato (191.7) who is owned in partnership by her husband, Niki Potterton, and Tracey McKeown. This Latour bay was bred by Anne Marie O’Gorman out of the Stakkato mare Stakkato Rain.