Róisín Sheridan

CAPTAIN Michael Kelly won his second Premier Grand Prix in the space of a week, when he captured a superb victory at Tattersalls, just four days after his win in Balmoral.

Riding the Minister for Defence’s Ringwood Glen, Kelly saw off a strong field of 50 competitors in the driving rain which lasted for most of the first round.

Capt Kelly said: “We are absolutely delighted with the win. Especially coming so soon after Balmoral, he (Ringwood Glen) is going really well, The facilities at Tattersalls are second to none. Despite the bad weather the footing was perfect, in fact the ground held up really well in all three rings.”

Just six of the 50 starters managed to stay fault-free through the first round, with an additional four earning a single time fault to make up the top 25% to go through to the timed round.

Neal Fearon was first to go as the slowest of the single faulters from round one with Cessina 4 and added a further four faults to their score when they had the final fence down which saw them out of the running.

Francis Connors then matched this score with the VDL Douglas-sired Erne Ladygoldilocks, collecting four faults at the second part of the double. Ger O’Neill and Go For It were hoping to repeat their good performance from Balmoral a few days earlier and they once again kept the poles standing in the jump-off, finishing on just a single time fault from the first round, in seventh place overall.

Alexander Butler and Monastery Stud More Pleasure also went clear as fourth to go and their time of 49.23 would be enough to slot them into sixth place in the final line-up. Deane Rogan was the first of the clears from round one and he went clear again in the jump-off with Falco Van Spieveld. a time of 42.02, which would eventually slot them into second place.

The next clear round came from Damien Griffin and Tabby. They failed to catch Rogan’s time stopping the clock at 45.36, this would see them claim fourth spot at the finish. Frank Curran and New World then went clear in a time of 43.34 to finish in third place, while Edward Doyle’s clear in 51.39 with Mullaghdrin Touch The Stars was good enough for fifth.

Last to go was Capt Michael Kelly. He left nothing to chance, with accurately timed turn-backs and forward momentum throughout, producing an impressive clear with the Arkansas-sired Ringwood Glen in 39.35. They finished over two seconds ahead of their closest rivals to secure victory in the class €12,000 which was sponsored by Friends of Rolestown.

There was more at stake than prize money for several of the riders however, as this was the final chance to earn valuable league points towards qualification to the international classes at the Dublin Horse Show.

Alexander Butler, John McLaughlin and Edward Doyle finished in the top three places on 29, 23 and 22 points respectively. to secure a coveted spot at the RDS.

A delighted John McLaughlin said afterwards: “It was quite unexpected really, but we earned some good results during the year and I’m really excited at the prospect of competing in the main ring. I rode ponies in Dublin many years ago but this is totally different. I’m just bringing the one horse for now, Java’s Wild Child and although he’s fit enough and has a big jump we won’t be going mad.

“I’ll be aiming at the 1.50m classes and if I can jump a clear round or perhaps pick up a placing I’d be more than delighted. I’m really looking forward to next week,” he said.

Michael Kelly is also now turning his attention to the Dublin Horse Show, adding: “I have three horses for the internationals in Dublin. Drumilier Lough, Ringwood Glen and Dunganstown Boy for the seven and eight-year-olds. I qualified for a place in the internationals because of my position in the world rankings. I had a couple of decent results in Vichy, Chantilly and Fontainebleau this year and luckily this was enough to get me in.

“We operate on a limited budget in the equitation school so the amount of shows we can go to is restricted, so I was delighted that I had done enough to get a place and represent the Equitation School in Dublin,” he said.