THE Banner county had some compensation last weekend with one All Ireland title win at Kildysart where local owner Tom Casey scored with his Financial Reward filly in the Clare Oil, Banner Contractors and host show’s two-year-old final. Part of Horse Sport Ireland’s showing championship series, the Banner county final attracted nine runners and was judged by producer Jane Bradbury and breeder Pat Fleming. Both Casey’s filly, bought in February, and the reserve champion, the Newell family’s Kilcahill Gemini, are by Donal Goland’s 2011 Croker Cup champion Financial Reward. Both are also traditionally-bred, as the champion is out of a Young Edmond-Ardent Lodger damline and was bred by John Foran in Kilrush. She qualified at the West Clare Show.

Newell’s reserve filly is out of their Colin Diamond mare Kilcahill Diamond, making the Kildysart runner-up a full-sister to Legacy, Dessie Gibson’s Balmoral yearling champion last May and since sold cross-channel. Kilcahill Diamond already has impressive All Ireland form as the national champion at Moate and Mountbellew in her foal days.

In third place was Tiernan Gill’s Step On It, who was due to compete at the Dublin Horse Show this week, by yet another former Croker Cup champion in Power Blade. Her Limmerick dam Tireragh Stepping Stone was the 2004 young horse reserve champion at Dublin and Gill’s prizewinner was bred by Jim Tempany.

Last year’s Dublin winning yearling champion, Hughie and Mary T. Murphy’s Barnaview Misty River, moved down to fourth from her initial place at the top of the line and one place behind the Chillout filly was Aisling Slattery’s Kannan filly, Clarehall Kannan Ball, whose good movement in her individual trot-up promoted her up the line.

Mayo exhibitors took 50% of the top-six places, with Thomas Conlon completing the prize-winners with his home-bred Lisbrogan Gold, by the eventing sire Le Prince Des Bois.

YOUNG HORSE CHAMPION

The other big class at Kildysart is the €1,000 to the supreme young horse champion, spon-sored by local man John O’Sullivan’s Dublin Coach business. Taking this back to Cork was a delighted John Tyner with his All Ireland champion at Bannow & Rathangan, Bullseye.

The VDL Orestus gelding was bred in Nenagh by Michael Hogan and secured his place in the supreme championship by winning the Casey, Meaney Construction & Talty Stores three-year-old championship.

Standing reserve supreme was Rebecca Monahan with the locally-bred Not A Bother, by Lancelot. She is another of 2018’s All Ireland finals having recently won the yearling filly title at Bridgetown. Other Kildysart champions included another Rebel County win for Kieran Fahey with his broodmare Madame Noir, by Kings Master. There were two more local wins for Gerard Grace who owned the champion foal, a colt by Lagans OBOS Quality and David & Paula Cusack’s stable provided the donkey champion Gizmo, out of well-supported classes.

Peter O’Malley’s purebred Connemara Glenloe Lady won the pony championship and in the popular three-year-old lunging classes it was another Connemara, Correal Wood owned by Keith Marks that took the pony title.

Noel McMahon’s Cranny Bridge Dallas, by Dallas VDL, won out in the horse division.