Pentridge is ‘winner alright’ for Byrne

THE Shantaram gelding Pentridge ran out a comfortable winner of the Perfect Eventer thoroughbred class as the 2021 Stepping Stones to Success training league commenced with its first assessment day at Wexford Equestrian on Wednesday.

Ridden by Thomas Byrne of the BGS Sport Horses yard in Kilmore, Co Wexford, Shirley Berry’s six-year-old completed on his flat work score of 24 penalties. Having much impressed the day’s dressage judge, Mark Ruddock, Pentridge recorded one of four clear jumping rounds.

“I’ve had a couple of thoroughbreds for this series in the past and I knew this fellow well as I schooled him over fences before he went pointing,” said Byrne. “He was trained by Shirley’s husband Johnny and ran twice last year, once in the spring and once in the autumn. Shirley rides him at home and while we had thought about this class a while back, we only really started working him towards it about three weeks ago.

“He has a real mind for it but still surprised us with his rate of improvement over the last week both in the flat and jumping phases,” continued Byrne. “He is entered for next week’s round of the league but he’s on the market and there was plenty of interest in him after Wednesday’s performance.”

Shirley Berry purchased Pentridge for just €2,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland August Sale in 2018. The bay is out of the non-winning Spartacus mare Sparkling Arrow, a half-sister to four winners including the Be My Guest filly Sunshine Guest who won five times on the flat and twice over hurdles.

Included in Friday’s 10-strong class were two stallions by Galileo. Caoimhe Shine’s Renaissance Man fared the better of the pair on this occasion when finishing second (31.5) under Alice Copithorne. The seven-year-old bay, who was bred by Kilcarn Stud, failed to finish in the first three in four outings on the flat as a three- and four-year-old.

However, being out of the dual listed-winner and Group 3-placed Kris S mare My Renee, Renaissance Man is a half-brother to five winners including the Holy Roman Emperor filly Bamimpire whose seven successes included five at Group 2 or 3 level and she was twice Group 1-placed. Renaissance Man had 10 first-crop foals registered on CapallOir last year.

Triumph for Kelly

There was another clear-cut winner in the Equijump Ltd pony producers’ section where Lucinda Kelly and the six-year-old Connemara mare Dunran Love In The Mist claimed the spoils on 189.5 points.

Here too, the runner-up was a stallion, P.J. Hegarty’s Connemara, Rosedale Casper, who achieved a score of 182 under Pauline Dahill. This five-year-old Turloughrevagh Star grey, who has 27 Show Jumping Ireland points, was bred in Claregalway by Alaoise Halpin out of the Robe Thunder mare Barna Lass.

“Under current Covid-19 restrictions, all competitions for ponies are cancelled at present so we producers are very lucky to have Wexford Equestrian making such an effort to ensure that a revised format of the Stepping Stones event producers’ pony section has begun,” stated a delighted Kelly. “Animals’ welfare, as well as producers’ livelihoods, are very difficult at the moment but, even after this first week of assessments, there has been a boost in the interest of buyers for our ponies.

“Dunran Love In The Mist, who is by I Love You Melody, was bred in Ashford, Co Wicklow by my mother. She is the first foal out of another home-bred mare, Dunran Button Moon (by Monaghanstown Boy) who is still alive and well. Mum has a smashing three-year-old old dun out of her by Western Boy who is also showing promise.

“Love In The Mist has always been ridden by me,” continued Kelly. “In her first outing at the 2019 Northern Ireland Festival as a four-year-old, she won the novice M&M ridden class out of 38 ponies. She was second in Balmoral and fourth at Dublin the same year. Last season, due to Covid, she did very little. This was her first outing of 2021 and we plan to campaign her for the Dublin performance Connemara qualifiers – if they go ahead – and then, hopefully, a little bit of eventing.”