THE prize-giving ceremony following the judging of the youngstock championship at this year’s Dublin Horse Show will be longer than usual as the RDS is awarding a new cup and prizes to the champion and reserve traditionally-bred young horse.

Show exhibitors were asked if their animal was eligible for this championship, which will be restricted to first and second prize winners in the yearling, two and three-year-old classes.

These were then checked by the RDS and those horses who are eligible “by virtue of having three successive generations of recorded Irish traditional pedigree i.e. one to some of all of the three basic constituent breeds, being Irish Draught (ID); Connemara Pony (CP); and Thoroughbred (TB / XX)”, are identified as such in the catalogue.

International bloodstock agent James Delahooke and David Dixon, manager at Stanley Grange Stud and longtime hunter judge, will begin assessing the two-year-olds in Ring 1 at 8.30am on Thursday.

Many of the top exhibitors from around the country will be represented in the middle/heavyweight geldings’ class where eight of the 11 entries have been nominated for the new championship.

One certainly not eligible is CAFRE Quartermaster, an OBOS Quality 004 bay out of a Holstein mare, although his owner Dessie Gibson knows what it takes to win this class, having done so twice in the last five years.

John Donaghy, whose Northern Magic could well be one to watch in the first section, has won the lightweight class twice in the past five years with those geldings going on to take the supreme championship. In 2014 he won with a thoroughbred by Stowaway and this year returns with another blue blood by the same sire, Team Talk, this one being out of an unraced Bach mare. The bay will face a maximum of eight opponents including last August’s reserve champion yearling, P.J. Glynn’s home-bred Crannaghmore Lad, by Near Dock, who was second to CAFRE Quartermaster at Balmoral in May.

The 2015 champion yearling returns for the fillies’ class with a change of owner and prefix. Now called Flogas Liqueur, Tiernan Gill’s Barnaby Flight bay will face 10 rivals, six of whom finished behind her last August.

Having sorted out the two-year-olds, Delahooke and Dixon will start judging the middle/heavyweight three-year-old geldings’ class, where just of the four of the 14 entries are eligible for the TIH championship. Among those who are not is the Hurst Show Team’s home-bred Tattygare Something Special (by Porsch), reserve champion yearling here in 2014 and last year’s all-Ireland champion two-year-old.

With an entry of 24, the lightweight class will be divided on the day. Those that catch the eye on paper are Rosemary Connors’s home-bred Financial Reward bay Woodfield Xtra, who is out of the owner’s great show and performance mare Woodfield Valier, and Robert Davis’s Balmoral champion Emperors Touch (by Emperor Augustus).

Donnie McGale is bringing back Corniche Chill (by Chillout) to see if he can go one better than last year when he was champion two-year-old and reserve young horse champion. Most of those who stood behind the grey in his class last August are taking him on again.

John and Mary Margaret Roche’s Assagart Velet (by Colin Diamond), who was reserve two-year-old champion 12 months ago, is one of 17 entries in the fillies’ class, as is P.J. Wall’s Sligo Candy Boy bay Caltra Star, champion yearling here in 2014.

Anthony Gordon has entered last season’s all-Ireland champion two-year-old filly Queen B, a daughter of Munther, while another entry who has taken this trio on regularly in the past couple of seasons is Kieran O’Gorman’s 2014 all-Ireland champion yearling filly, the Lux Z bay Brookfield Royale.

Yearlings will be judged in Ring 1 starting at 9.00 next Friday and, among the 14 entries in the colts and geldings’ class, nine are eligible for the TIH championship should they finish in the first two.

Tim Martin has entered the Balmoral yearling champion Superior Choice, one of three in the class by Emperor Augustus, while it’s good to see Brian Daly listed with a son of Newmarket Venture, who stands at his Scarteen Stud. The only colt among the entries is Liam Lynskey’s Glensmill Mr Big (by Mr Big Cat).

Of the three entries in the 10-strong fillies’ class who are TIH eligible, one is Margaret Jeffares’s home-bred Emperor Augustus bay Ballykelly Debbies Belle. Valerie McCallister will show Sugar Bess, a well-related Porsch bay, while the eventing fraternity will be keen to see Regina Burchill’s Timpany Ruby as her sire, Centre Stage, recently won the CNC** at Grove.

As usual, the McCusker Group of Lurgan are sponsoring the best turned out and breeders’ prizes in each of the young horse classes.