But he was forced to share the limelight with Daniel Coyle, who won the league title despite missing out on a top place in the final.

Riding Angela Taggart’s mare Caugherty (by Limmerick out of a Flagmount Diamond dam) Butler saw off some strong competition in the 17-way jump-off to secure the win.

“We are really pleased with the result. The owners couldn’t be there unfortunately, but they were absolutely delighted with her. She had a minor injury last year so she missed out on a few shows but she came back into full work five weeks ago and she feels great and is going really well,” said Butler. “The plan now is to head to the first Premier Series class in Louth with her; to be competitive in that series with a view to getting into Dublin in August.”

Butler will also compete the stallion Cornet Son (by Cornet Obolensky), owned by James Egan, who he has high hopes for.

“Being a full horse he can be a bit too active sometimes and he can get distracted easily but he is getting much better this year and I think he has matured a lot. I’m hoping for some good results in the premier league from both these horses,” he added.

Daniel Coyle’s consistent run of four outright wins and three third place finishes in the 15-round league gave him his third Spring Tour league title win in as many years.

Coyle finished the league on 74.5 points, ahead of runner-up, Galwegian Thomas O’Brien from (55 points) and third-placed Conor McEneaney (37 points).

Speaking afterwards, Coyle said he was delighted with the result.

“I think that the series is an important part of the calendar, it is perfect for horses of a certain level to compete. It is also a great way to bring on young horses and introduce them to the bigger classes,” he remarked.

Coyle now plans to compete in the Premier league with Zuidam and Athletic Van’t Lozerhof, as well as travelling to Hickstead and aiming to qualify “a couple” for Dublin.

A massive field of 67 lined out for the final Spring Tour in lovely sunshine at the Kildare venue, which course designer Tom Holden reduced to 17 for the jump-off.

A number of fences caused problems in round one, including the combination at fence 12, a right-handed dog-leg into the narrow vertical at six and the related distance from fences eight to nine.

Pathfinder Ger Clarke and Woudprins ran into trouble early on, retiring after jumping through the second fence. Local man Edward Doyle produced the first clear round aboard Mullaghdrin Touch the Stars in 43.25 seconds, enough to keep him in the prize money in eventual sixth place.

Billie Jean O’Neill never had an opportunity to make her mark; her mount J Silky stopped at the first fence and she was eliminated. The oxer at fence five spoiled what was otherwise a decent round for the Army’s Lt. David Power and Dollanstown in 47.06.

This was followed by two clear rounds from Sophie Dalm and the Dutch-bred Unique and Cian O’Connor with Saphir. Dalm stopped the clock in 39.91, giving her a temporary lead, but O’Connor sliced over two seconds off that time in 37.41.

At the half-way point O’Connor’s time seemed to be the winning one but Butler’s fluid turns and lively pace saw Caugherty finish clear in the winning time of 36.13.

Of the remaining seven combinations just two managed clear rounds; Captain Geoff Curran and Shannondale Rahona slotted into third place while O’Connor and Cooper took fifth place just behind Dalm in fourth.

Last to go, league leader Daniel Coyle and Uptown Girl were denied their storybook ending by four faults incurred when the front rail of fence five dropped to the ground. Nonetheless, as fastest of the four-faulters, they took seventh place and secured the league title.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Conor McEneaney and Moonlite Cavalier won the €2,000 Castlefield Sport Horse-sponsored award for the leading seven- and eight-year-old horse of the series. Moonlite Cavalier, an eight-year-old stallion by Cavalier Royale, recorded no less than five double clear rounds, as well as winning the Killossery leg of the tour.