Susan Finnerty

ALTHOUGH his hat-trick bid was foiled last year by Gortfree Hero, Jimmy Quinn’s Cappa Cassanova finally won his triple-crown last Friday and no sooner were the stallions back in their stables when the news of a prospective rematch between the pair in the All Ireland final at Clonaslee spread.

The spectacle of 16 stallions gathered in Ring 1 on Thursday afternoon is always a popular one with Irish Draught enthusiasts and was heightened this year by the possibility that either Cappa Cassanova or last year’s victor Gortfree Hero could record a treble.

Ultimately it was Quinn’s nine-year-old Welcome Flagmount who stood top of the Parkbytext-sponsored showcase, judged by Holsteiner breeder Hanno Köhncke and Nicholas Locke from Lincolnshire. Their champion, bred by Seamus Leahy in Headford, is out of Headford Beauty, by another Dublin multi-champion Kildalton Gold.

The winner was shown by Seamus Sloyan who had also led the grey when he enjoyed a back-to-back double in 2012 and 2013.

Cappa Cassanova’s win sealed an excellent week for his connections as he had also produced the winner of the potential event horse three-year-old final on Wednesday night in Kathy Charlton’s traditionally-bred Noble Class.

Galwayman Quinn, an architect who frequently travels to China for building projects, had entered four stallions and for good measure, Cappa Aristocrat, the youngest member of his Cappa Stud quarter, was reserve. Just a four-year-old, the newly-approved Star Kingdom son is out of the Carrabawn View mare, Bellview Golden Girl and was bred in Lawrencetown by Pascal Claffey.

Third place went to P.J. Fitzpatrick’s Carrabawn Cross, who has greatly matured since his first public outing at the 2011 stallion inspections where the Young Carrabawn homebred was approved. Now a seven-year-old, the liver chesnut closely resembles his maternal grandsire Holycross, who also produced the late P.J. O’Reilly’s 1996 champion, Grosvenor Lad.

Standing fourth was another of this year’s class 1 newly-approved sires in Sean Barker’s surprise package Gortfree Lakeside Lad. The grey three-year-old is by another of Barker’s stallions, the widely-tipped winner Gortfree Hero, who was also bidding for a third Dublin title following his 2010 and 2014 wins.

Now a 13-year-old Gortfree Hero placed seventh on this occasion and sandwiched in between the Barker pair were Matt Loughnane’s attractive roan Dunsandle Diamond, by Coolcronan Wood and Liam Lynskey’s consistent Dublin prizewinner Moylough Bouncer. Sloyan’s big winner Elm View is amongst that Grange Bouncer 13-year-olds book of mares this year.

Both judges were pleased with the standard and numbers of Irish Draught entries. “I think quality is important. Obviously the breed standard is what we’ve all got to work towards, but on top of that if they’ve got quality with movement, that’s where the winners came out,” said Locke afterwards.

The pitfalls of balancing breed characteristics with good movement was also felt by fellow first-time Dublin visitor Köhncke. “I have the experience with Holstein sport horses that we have similar problems.

“We specialize in show jumping and we lose our natural movement and so we work on that. The way of showing horses [in Ireland] is totally different to ours, we prefer them shown loose.”