THE trainer/jockey partnership of brothers Dan and Harry Skelton are due to judge the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing racehorse to riding horse class at next week’s Dublin Horse Show when hopefully they will be impressed by its popularity with spectators.

With the now usual mix of high rated horses and six who won qualifiers around the country for Saturday afternoon’s class in Ring 1, the Skeltons will be faced by horses as young as five such as Largy Texas, who ran in one point-to-point and two hurdle races in the second half of 2024, to the 20-year-old Raz de Maree.

That Shaanmer gelding won hurdle races and five chases in a 51-race career which concluded in December 2019.

Raz de Maree is one of four French-breds in the class, another being Cheveley Park Stud’s A Plus Tard whose six wins included the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup when he was partnered by Rachael Blackmore to her historic success in the race. The 2014 Kapgarde gelding will be ridden by Emily Kate Robinson who competes on the bay at Novice level with Dressage Ireland.

Retired into the care of England-based bloodstock agent Tom Malone, who had purchased the chesnut after he had unseated his rider in a Dromahane maiden in 2014, Native River counts the 2018 running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup among the 14 wins he recorded for the Colin Tizzard yard.

The now 15-year-old Indian River gelding, who enjoyed a successful showing career in Britain, moved to Co Meath a couple of months ago and has won twice and finished second once in three starts under Emily MacMahon.

Native River, who won the Tatteralls Ireland Treo Eile Showing Pathway open qualifiers at Nugentstown and Tattersalls, made his Irish debut early last month at the Flavours of Fingal Show.

There, he was pulled in first to top the judges’ initial line-up but had to settle for second behind the Fiona Gerring-owned and ridden Moon Over Claddagh, a seven-year-old Sea The Moon gelding who failed to win on the track.

Doubly engaged next week is the eight-year-old Ocovango gelding Creggs Cross who is owned jointly by Claire Connors and Kate McMahon. The former also has the bay entered on day one of the show in the large riding horse class.