Tara Dunne

CIAN O’Connor’s Karlswood Stables dominated in the seventh leg of the Gain/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix league taking a one-two-three victory. O’Connor took the outright win with Quick Shine closing the curtain on a well-supported Portmore Autumn Championships when clinching the victory in the £4,000 feature class sponsored by the Equestrian Store.

O’Connor, double-handed in the jump-off, showed exactly what had to be done on his first outing with Quick Shine and stopped the clock at 41.76 seconds. It was a standard that would hold despite strong opposition offered by Dermott Lennon and Karlswood Stables’ domination was completed when Ross Mulholland and Lillie Keenan supplied the only other double clears on the day.

O’Connor told The Irish Field: “All of the horses I competed today belong to Lillie (Keenan). She’s currently in college in Harvard and comes over to train a couple of times a month. There are five really nice horses and she works very hard at it and is talented which makes my job training her very easy. Her mother, Pam, is very enthusiastic and it was great for her to be there today (Sunday) to see Quick Shine win.”

He continued: “This is only my second class on Quick Shine, I jumped him around the Grand Prix in Eglinton and I intend to take him away to a couple of shows in November. Super Sox will jump with Lillie in Cavan next week and then he will be coming to Doha as my second horse along with Good Luck VDL. I’ve got three clients in America so I’ll be wintering in Florida, the horses will head out before Christmas.”

Owned by Keenan’s Chansonette Farms, Quick Shine is by Numero Uno out of a Heartbreaker-sired dam. Keenan has been paired with the eight-year-old gelding from 2014 and has shown some impressive form. Olympian O’Connor may have only had one previous outing with Quick Shine but took very little time to get accustomed to the gelding finishing in the top ten in Eglinton leg of the autumn league before Sunday’s result.

Resident course designer Rafael Suarez set the challenge for the 40 starting combinations. It quickly became apparent that the course required precision riding with maximum concentration needed from both horses and riders from start to finish.

Ross Mulholland supplied the first clear round with Ahmed du Calvaire with a further eight following suit. The time allowed of 78 seconds had played a part in keeping the pressure on riders over the evening and a single time penalty denied Catherine Thornton and Derryinver Luxury Cruise a place in the timed decider.

Mulholland played pathfinder and made light work of the shortened and raised course with the nine-year-old Cerano-sired gelding. A tight line to the home straight saw Mulholland come home in 42.19 which would hold for the runner-up position.

Mulholland has a firmly established partnership with Ahmed du Calvaire gained at shows in Europe but has shown good form on home soil of late featuring in three legs of the autumn league to date as well as finishing third in a 1.50m class at the three-star show in Millstreet.

Patricia Stewart Greer took on this standard with the 11-year-old mare Rehab but proved out of luck when faulting at the penultimate oxer, completing with four faults in 48.74. This would prove good enough for eventual seventh place in the line-up.

CHALLENGE

Greer and Rehab have been exceptionally consistent over the season at 1.35m level with numerous placings in the Ulster Region Bluegrass Summer Tour seeing the pair finish second overall in the league.

Greer has already been active in the autumn league taking a top six finish at The Meadows EC back in September.

Dermott Lennon made it triple-handed to the clocked round and looked determined to make each chance count. Taking it on first with Corbeagh Luxor, Lennon’s turn to the second fence proved too tight and he too faulted at the penultimate oxer to finish on a total of 12 faults when also running into time when the clock showed 60.03.

Lennon made a better effort at that early turn on his next mount, the Chatman-sired 10-year-old mare Fleur IV but again lowered the penultimate obstacle albeit in a very fast time of 38.63. The former World Champion perfected the shortest route home on his third attempt recording 36.27 with the Touchdown-sired Gelvins Touch but again had his hopes dashed by a single fence. Giving O’Connor a few tense moments, Lennon looked set to take the lead but lowered the second part of the double on the home stretch.

Sophie Dalm, aboard the French-bred 10-year-old Remake Lande, was another rider to make it as far as the final line with a clean sheet but had the final fence come down logging 44.23.

Lillie Keenan had no such troubles with Super Sox with a fault-free round in 43.25. The nine-year-old Salito-sired gelding is new mount to the 19-year-old young rider this season. Super Sox was formerly campaigned by Norwegian Benedikte Serigstad Endresen with the pair finishing fourth individually in last year’s Young Rider European Championships.

Keenan has had a successful season with Super Sox, notably finishing third in the Tom Hudson Derby Trophy at Hickstead while in Ireland Keenan has featured with a runner-up finish in the leg of the Premier Series at South County Show and taking fourth in the autumn league at Eglinton.

O’Connor was last to go in the jump-off already comfortable in the knowledge that he had won the class. Riding the eight-year-old Catoki-sired Mercury, O’Connor had to settle for eighth place on this occasion when incurring eight faults in 42.02.