GCS Venus and Vincent Byrne won the Orhre-sponsored four-year-old Irish Championship final by a four-point margin at the Irish Breeders’ Classic show in Barnadown, Co Wexford, last Saturday afternoon.

Tim Brennan’s mare is by Luidam and is the first foal out of GCS Ita (OBOS Quality) who Byrne also rode, and she was bred by Olivia Brennan. The grandam of Venus is the 1.55m mare MHS Attraction, ridden at international level by Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya.

The mare was fourth in the main arena at the RDS National Championships in Ballsbridge last week but improved again in the seven-day turnaround to win in Barnadown.

“He was bred, broken and produced by his owner Tim Brennan so he really deserves the credit,” Byrne said afterwards.

“I rode the horse’s mother GCS Ita when she was a four-year-old in Dublin and we won the Broodmare Futurity class, we also went to the Breeders’ Classic that year. She is now seven and being ridden now by Tim’s son Timmy and doing very well.

“She (GCS Venus) qualified for Dublin in Mullingar and finished fourth in the final in the main ring. She is a lovely straightforward mare to ride. She is improving all the time, she seems to have gotten better even between Dublin and Barnadown, she’s learning all the time.

“Everything comes easy to her, she has great balance in the canter which makes life much easier for the rider.”

Just 22 combinations qualified for the final which was judged by Barry O’Connor and Ethen Ahearne.

Following the class Ahearne said: “They were a very commercial bunch of horses. The standard was very high. They were all very well produced and there were a lot of nice horses which was great to see.

“Very little separated the top three horses, there was very little between them. It was great to see so many really talented youngsters coming through.”

Byrne scored 78 to secure the top spot, four points ahead of runner-up Bravour VDL with Shane Dalton in the saddle on 74. By Brantzau out W-Benita (Cassini I), the stallion was bred by Wiepke VanDe Lageweg at VDL Stud and is owned by Ennisnag Stud.

Third place went to Maurice Cousins’ Make Me Happy, ridden by Sophie Richards, on 72.5. Third at the RDS the previous week, he is by Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet and was bred by Sean Hurley.

Vincent Byrne also took fourth place, this time riding Freestone Farm’s gelding Sumas Knockout. Bred by the Suma Stud, he is a son of Tyson out of Sumas Fanny Price (VDL Arkansas) and was placed sixth in the Dublin finals on a score of 78.75; he scored 72.5 here.

Fifth place went to Richard Bourns’ Attagirl, ridden by Joanne Blair, on a score of 68.5. By Vigo D’Arsouilles, she is out of the aforementioned MHS Attraction (Numero Uno).

Young rider Dylan Savage slotted into sixth place riding Ger O’Neill’s Belgian-bred mare Ramona De Walput (Quickly De Krisker x Joyau De Bloye).