IN addition to dominating in the Plusvital Premier Series, it was another rider from Ballypatrick that claimed the win in Saturday’s feature, the 1.40m Premier Performance National Grand Prix.

Max O’Reilly Hyland guided his own eight-year-old home-bred Rock Warrior, a gelding by Casalla La Silla out of Cassi, by Castor, to the top spot in a time of 37.00 in the decider.

A starting field of 49 combinations saw 22 produce a first-round clear. Two incurred the dreaded single time fault, 10 had one fence down, four had two down, while the remaining 13 notched up more than eight faults.

O’Reilly Hyland commented: “This is a special one. Rock Warrior is a home-bred out of a mare that my father [Charlie] would have jumped in National and Premier Grands Prix 15 odd years ago. The team at Ballypatrick look after the horse and train him and keep him fit during the week for me. It’s a credit to them that I can show up, they hand me a horse that is fit and ready to go and I can go in and enjoy it. That’s what the sport is about, to go in and have fun.

“I think he is really special, he won a 1.50m Premier earlier in the year with Niamh McEvoy, we think an awful lot of him. He will go to Balmoral for the Premier and then on to Tattersalls.”

Young rider Alex Finney and her family’s Belgian-bred gelding Newberry Cleverleaf took the runner-up spot, breaking the beams in the closest margin of 37.01.

Caspetito Z, owned by Martha McNamara and ridden by her daughter Daisy, slotted into third place in 37.03.

Fourth went to Rhys Williams riding his family’s Belgian-bred mare Dominante Z (8yo) in 38.49, while Cathal Daniels and Cappog Tomy added another top-six finish to their haul when they crossed the finish in 38.94 for fifth place.

Soblensky Vh Scheefkasteel Z, owned by Northlawn Farm Ltd, was ridden to sixth place by Susan Fitzpatrick in 39.08.