CHEVELEY Park Stud’s A Plus Tard visited the winner’s enclosure eight times during his racing career and last Saturday added to his tally of major victories when landing the prestigious Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Racehorse to Riding Horse class at the Dublin Horse Show.

Winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2022 when he was trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore, the French-bred gelding also provided his Co Waterford rider, Emily-Kate Robinson, with her first win at the famed Ballsbridge showgrounds.

“I competed in the working hunter pony section about five times and once in the side saddle class,” revealed Robinson. “Last year, when I rode A Plus Tard in the racehorse class (where they weren’t placed), I rode my home-bred Dutch Warmblood gelding Largento in the large riding horse class earlier in the week.

“I brought A Plus Tard to a lot of shows last year but changed tactics this time. We won the racehorse to riding horse class at Balmoral and went to one small showing show since then. I’ve mainly kept him to dressage. He has qualified for the national championships (in Ballindenisk at the end of the month) at Preliminary level and has started competing at Novice.

“He is a very easy, laid back horse. He didn’t mind spending Friday night in a strange stable or all the noise that goes on around a big show like this.

"While a couple of the other horses got upset with the delay to the start of our class, it didn’t bother ‘AP’ at all.”

That certainly looked the case from outside the ring, as the 11-year-old Kapgarde gelding moved and behaved beautifully throughout. The ‘field’ did a lot of trotting on the right rein, changed rein at a trot and only cantered, and galloped, on the left rein when the class was split.

The judges, jockey Harry Skelton (ride) and his trainer brother Dan (conformation) had two contrasting geldings top their original line-up and there they remained, although all were asked to trot again before final placings were decided.

Commenting on the winner, Harry said: “He didn’t put a foot wrong at all from the moment he stepped in the ring to the moment he left; he was immaculate. He has made the transition from the racecourse to the ring fantastically. He gave me a really nice ride, did everything I asked and was very well mannered. Well done to everyone for getting the horses here in fantastic condition but he was the one who really stood out.”

Standing second to Robinson and A Plus Tard were Co Antrim’s Chloe Connon and farrier James Quinn’s Largy Texas. This 2020 Libertarian gelding ran in two maiden hurdles and one point-to-point maiden in the second half of last year when trained by former international event rider Stuart Crawford.

The bay had his last start at Portrush on October 12th and was competing in a showing class for just the third time on Saturday. He started his second career on a high note when reserve racehorse to riding horse champion at the Northern Ireland Festival in July before qualifying for Dublin at Armagh.

Heather MacKenzie moved up to finish third with the 14-year-old Kalanisi gelding Brain Power who won eight races on the track and five open points when trained firstly by James Jenkins, then by Nicky Henderson and finally Warren Ewing.

Winning rider Robinson works five mornings a week for de Bromhead doing flatwork with the racehorses and then does her own horses in the afternoon. She was keen to praise others in the yard on Saturday. “He’s a credit to the team at Knockeen who looked after him when he was in training... he’s not got a lump or a bump.”

In no way disagreeing with the result, it was more obvious than ever this year that a showing judge should be on hand to ensure that this class, which is so popular with the public, is run like every other class at the Dublin Horse Show and at the qualifiers around the country.