Tara Dunne

DARRAGH Ryan recorded another memorable moment for his remarkable 2016 season when he triumphed in the Irish Breeders Classic (IBC) with Ballypatrick Flamenco, bred by Dr Noel Cawley.

Greg Broderick’s Ballypatrick Stables has been responsible for the winner of the IBC on two previous occasions and Ryan secured the third victory over five years with the six-year-old Ballypatrick Flamenco.

Touted as the richest young horse class in the world, Ryan was one of the top 28 combinations with five and six-year-old horses coming through from two qualifying rounds to contest the grand finale worth €39,400.

The lucrative prize fund is created by a unique initiative which sees the entire industry pull together for this event. The €50,000 sponsorship for the weekend’s young horse championships is made up of contributions from riders, owners, breeders, producers and equestrian businesses all coming together to promote the Irish-born horse.

Twenty-year-old Ryan’s outstanding season included a successful Dublin Horse Show campaign in which he won the Four-Year-Old Mo Chroi National Championship and the 1.25/1.30m Young Rider Championship Final, as well as placing second in the Five-Year-Old Flexing National Championships. The young rider from Thurles also won the seven-year-old final of the Horse Sport Ireland ISH Studbook Showjumping Series with Ballypatrick Flamenco’s half-sister Glimmering, also bred by Dr Cawley.

Ryan commented: “It really is a team effort, especially in a yard as big as Ballypatrick. I have thank Greg (Broderick), Matt (Calderwood), Ashleigh (Skillen) and the whole team. I just feel really privileged to be riding horses of this calibre.

“To win in Dublin was absolutely fantastic and this just tops it all off, hopefully it keeps up for Lanaken.”

Ryan is selected for Lanaken with three horses, one of which is Ballypatrick Flamenco. The six-year-old gelding is by Je T’Aime Flamenco out of the Cruising-sired dam Cruise Leaf.

The young rider also received a €400 prize for the most stylish round awarded by SRS Sporthorses and Paul O’Shea.

Broderick, home from Rio before jetting off again to compete in Spruce Meadows told The Irish Field: “Ballypatrick Flamenco has been produced slowly and, for what he has done, I didn’t really expect him to win, but he has a great mind and Darragh gave him a great spin. I’m really proud of both of them.”

He continued: “He actually reminds me of MHS Going Global, he is all hinges - every bit of him works. I think he is a real championship horse for the future.

“He ticks all the right boxes he’s brave, careful and has all the scope in the world. I definitely think he’s one you will see on the world stage in the future, a team horse.”

Course designer Tom Holden set the challenge for the 28 starting combinations and, paying testament to the standard of horse in the final, 20 of those got through to the timed decider and seven of these from the five-year-old section.

Two riders, Ger O’Neill and Christian Coyle, made it through to the jump-off with three horses apiece, while Francis Connors and Ryan both had two chances of challenging for the prize.

The jump-off round proved more difficult to negotiate without fault, with the first fence and the final Kylemore Stud oxer putting a number of combinations out of contention, while the turn back to the double at the halfway point also caused its share of faults.

Ryan commented: “I thought the track was big enough in the first round and I was shocked by the amount of clears. It went up for the jump-off and, with so many in it, people were forced to go quickly, which saw some very good horses catching fences.”

The five-year-old section failed to produce a double clear, although Ger O’Neill came closest to that goal. The final rider with a five-year-old, O’Neill had been around once before with Columbcille Gipsy and, this time riding ESI Toulouse looked set to keep a clean sheet. However a pole down at the final fence in a time of 43.91 seconds was met with an exclamation of frustration from O’Neill, which was echoed by the watching crowd.

Riders began to take the cautious approach in the six-year-old section but still incurred so Michael Pender upped the ante for spectators with Curra Clover Flight. Runners-up in the Dublin Six-Year-Old Cruising National Championship, Pender and the Barnaby Flight-sired gelding took every risk and remained clear up until the final fence but their quick time of 38.51 would stand for eventual sixth place.

With a clear round by this stage looking unachievable, the crowd was thrilled when a faultless performance was finally produced by the 14th combination, Nicola FitzGibbon and Castleforbes Angelina, coming home in 44.23. Owned and bred by Lady Georgina Forbes, the mare is by Vivaldo Van Het Costersveld out of the Selle Francais dam Germino D’Elle.

FitzGibbon’s time at the top was short-lived however, when her benchmark was immediately bettered by Mervyn Clarke. Partnered with his own Thomascourt Senna, Clarke made easy work of the time crossing the line with nearly three seconds to spare in 41.77.

Bred by Co Antrim’s Cynthia Beattie, Thomascourt Senna is by Mermus R out of the Cruising-sired dam Playgirl.

Produced by Clarke through the ISH Studbook Showjumping Series, the mare finished joint second in this year’s final six-year-old league standings.

Clarke’s lead too was short-lived with Ryan and Ballypatrick Flamenco as the first to take on the new target. Ryan outlined his plan for the jump-off, saying: “I’d been around once before with my five-year-old Boleybawn Actor – he was unlucky to have a fence but he was quite quick.

“I saw Mervyn’s round and I felt I really only had one choice which was to really go for it as there were some very quick riders still to come.”

Ryan executed his plan to perfection, jumping clear in a time of 39.63 with only four combinations remaining to challenge. Young rider Jack O’Donohue didn’t make a challenge on the time, aiming instead for a steady clear with the Heritage Fortunas-sired HHS Burnchurch. This he duly delivered in 46.26, a solid round that secured him fifth place.

Francis Connors was the only other rider to log a clear round. Riding BP Castlefield, Connors put on a tidy display to stop the clock at 44.05. Bred by Tom Taite, the former Dublin four-year-old champion is by Luidam out of the Darco-sired Wendoliene and is one of the selections for this year’s World Breeding Championships in Lanaken.

Speaking after the class to The Irish Field, show organiser Ronan Rothwell said: “It’s a testament to Irish breeding that year on year the standard is improving and there are more horses than ever that can justify entering the class.

“Oftentimes we criticize the Irish breeding but there is clearly a steady improvement.”