Margie McLoone

AS the Young Event-horse Series (YES) reaches its final stages, some intense, if friendly, rivalry is developing between Co Wexford owners which will be replicated at Dublin next month.

Presently among the four-year-olds, this is centred on Mary Bolger’s Kilcannon High Society and Alice Kehoe’s Westwinds Navigator both of whom won their section at Tattersalls on Thursday.

Ridden by Jason Higgins, Kilcannon High Society is a point behind but the Rehy High Society gelding has won on all three of his outings to date. This week in Section A, the good-looking chestnut had the third-best flat mark of 99, jumped clear within the time and, with the winning combined suitability and potential score of 74.6, secured victory on 317.6.

With Colin Halliday in some pain with his back, Emma Jackson took over the ride on Hugh McCusker’s Harison, another who was previously qualified for the RDS. The strapping Harlequin Du Carel gelding finished second on 314.9, his score being boosted by receiving the top ridden display mark of 102 from Clare Fitzsimons.

Jackson also finished third (309.7) on her own attractive grey Cashell gelding Aaroch who now shares the lead in the four-year-old league on 19 points. The Co Down rider then picked up the only qualifying ticket in this section when fourth on 305.1 with Jessica Finnegan’s Wivollets Pleasure Cruise.

This bay mare was bred in Co Carlow by James Flood out of Miss Carnival Cruise (by Cruising) and is by the Dutch Warmblood sire Wivollet Van Beek who Finnegan started eventing this season. The 2003 Great Pleasure stallion is competing in the EI 100 class at Killossery Lodge today with Jackson in the saddle.

Assessing this section for S&P on the flat, Janet Murray awarded her top score of 26.5 to both the Heritage Fortunus gelding Ballinaguilkey Fortunus, ridden for Pam Walshe by George Russell, and the Mermus R mare Cornascriebe Mermaid who Johnny Mulligan rides for breeder Carol Armstrong.

The Mulligan-partnered Cascum Lewis, a Luidam chesnut owned by breeders Andrew and Roslyn Brown, topped Lieutenant Colonel Brian MacSweeney’s assessment of the jumping action on 29 points.

DESTROYING

If the league was a handicap, Sarah Ennis might be accused of destroying Westwinds Navigator’s mark as Alice Kehoe’s home-bred Ramiro B gelding won Section B on a total of 323.9 which left him 14 points clear of his field. The well-bred bay, who received the section’s top score of 30.5 from the flat S&P judge Paula Stammschroer and 29 points from MacSweeney, shares the lead at the top of the four-year-old league with Aaroch.

Jason Higgins gave Muriel Kehoe’s Future Plans a superb ride to qualify for Dublin in second place on 309.9. The eye-catching palomino had finished fifth on his eventing debut in the EI 90 class at Rosanna under owner Muriel Kehoe who purchased him as a two-year-old.

“I was laid up with a broken leg at the time so when a neighbour asked me to go with him and pick up a horse he’d just bought, I had nothing better to do than go with him,” Kehoe related. “We went into a shed where there were three palominos and when he asked him which one he’d bought, I guessed correctly. By the time we got home, I’d given him profit on the horse!

“You never know how you’re going to be when you get over a broken leg so I called him Future Plans as I was determined that I’d get back riding! Jason did a great job on the horse today.”

Future Plans, who is by the cremello German warmblood stallion Crown’s Ace Of Pearl, was bred in Co Wicklow by Eddie Hanlon out of the Tasset mare Out To Sea. He is a half-brother to Cooley Dawn Raid (by Ramiro B) who is now eventing in the United States.

Also qualifying for Dublin, when finishing third on 309.5 points under Catherine Robinson, was Carsonstown Claudius by Lougherne Cashell.

As his name would suggest, this grey gelding, who received Sally Parkyn’s top presentation score of 24.5, was bred out of the Colin Diamond mare Foggy Wood by Co Down’s John Carlisle who owns him in partnership with producer Neil McCluskey.

Westwinds Mackenzie, ridden for breeder Alice Kehoe by Sarah Ennis, consolidated his position at the top of the five-year-old League when finishing second on Thursday on a total of 381.95 points.

Here, the Wexford rivalry continued with Mary Kehoe winning on her Russel grey One Plan (382.25), who moved into second spot in the League thanks to this victory. The grey shared top place on 139 points following Clare Fitzsimons’s judging of the ridden display with the unplaced Ballylarkin Emperor.

QUALIFYING TICKET

The first qualifying ticket went to the third-placed MJM Laszlo (376.2), a Classic Vision gelding ridden for Louise Lyons by Becky Tandy. The bay was bred by the flat work S&P assessor Janet Murray out of the Touchdown mare Mi Chiamano Mimi. He was her third and final foal.

“We sadly lost Mimi during Laszlo’s foaling,” revealed Murray. “Luckily, he found a wonderful foster mother the next day courtesy of Connemara breeder Dessie Dunleavy from Drogheda. Realteen (and she was a little star) lost her foal the same night but, after we collected her, she instantly took to Laszlo and raised him well. He was as big as her by the time he was weaned! Louise bought him at the Goresbridge September Sale of 2013.”

As the fourth and fifth-placed horses, Corbally Night (373.6) and KMS Indoctro (369.35), had already qualified for the RDS, the two remaining tickets went to the Boherdeal Clover mare Balief Clover, who finished sixth (367.45) under owner Dale Adams, and the former top in-hand mare Sugar Bunnie who, making her performance debut under Sarah Ennis, completed on 361.45 for seventh.