FORTSIDE Fortune, a mare by Untouchable 27, out of Glenford Dream by Quidam Junior was ridden to victory by Robyn Moran in Sunday’s feature at the Cavan September Indoor Championships, the Cavan Crystal Hotel five-year-old final, which boasted a prize pot of €7,000.

Bred by Jack O’Donohue and owned by Fortside Farm, she has been produced by Moran. Following the win, she spoke to The Irish Field: “I bought her in Goresbridge as a three-year-old in the July sale from her breeder Jack O’Donohue.

“We broke her here and got her riding well. I did a couple of the four-year-old qualifiers with her. She didn’t qualify but she did place well enough and then she picked up a small injury in the stable, so she was late starting this year; she only started in late June and I took her slow and was building her up for this show.

“I only did the last of the five-year-old qualifiers for Dublin this year, she was just back in work really. She jumped well and was just unlucky but we were happy with her.

“She has taken a bit of time, but she is coming the whole time. She was just a little bit awkward at the start, but now she is nice and quiet.

“She was green, but is keen and quite quick off the ground. The three rounds on Sunday actually suited her because she’s quite blood and the more she jumps, the better she gets; she jumped five out of five clear rounds over the weekend.”

Careful

Moran continued: “I don’t think I’ve ever gone that fast on her before. Leading to this, I did a few turns on her at other shows, prepping her but she wouldn’t be used to being asked to go that quick.

“She was very good to tap the ground and all that. She’s very careful. I’ll let her off now for the winter and bring her back for the six-year-olds next year.

“I think the tracks were fair. They were big, but jumped quite well. They were built kind of in a rhythm, so it didn’t scare them. There was plenty of space between the jumps.

“My other horse, Brian O’Malley’s Oakport Keano, was unlucky to have the fourth fence down in the jump-off. I’d say he could have been faster than the mare, but I slowed down after he had the fence.

“I got him as a three-year-old. We did a good bit with him and let him off for most of his four-year-old year. He did the four-year-olds at the Cavan November show. He took a bit more time I suppose. He is very aware of what’s going on around him the whole time.

“We had him in for April and he did the second and third qualifiers. He was one place out in Barnadown. I think he missed out by 0.01 of a second, or something like that.

“He was in the Ruby final in Millstreet and was in the jump-off there. He is always there or thereabouts; it’s now just about getting mileage on him for next year.

“We mostly have young horses. I have Cushlas Fryday for the bigger classes, but then the next ones down are six years old,” the winner concluded.

Timed decider

A total of 43 horses had qualified earlier in the week for the final on Sunday afternoon, 21 of whom produced a clear first round.

From these, just 14 kept a clean sheet through the second round to earn a place in the timed decider.

From the 14, only half a dozen left all the jumps intact to let time decide the victor. Moran was fastest aboard Fortside Fortune in 41.18 for the win.

Daren Hopkins came closest to catching her aboard Aloga Stables’ home-bred California Bw (Cardento x Clinton), stopping the clock just a fraction slower in 41.21. Third went to Kenneth Graham riding William Lapsley’s home-bred Altaskin Omerta (Beach Ball x Arkan) in 41.28.

Patrick Hickey and his brother William’s Dutch-bred gelding Pogacar Ds took fourth in 41.48, while Dylan Savage rode another home-bred, Jessica Dorban-Stallard’s Dhf Defiant (United Way x Wang Chung M2S), into fifth in 42.43.

Sixth went to Nicholas Butler riding his own Crs Reilly (Phil Vd Wezelse Heihieve x Askoll Peter Pan), bred by Walter Butler.