Sally Parkyn

WEDNESDAY was a day to remember for young horse specialist Andrew Gardiner, whose Doonaveeragh AOC landed the coveted three-year-old potential young event horse championship.

It was the second time in the class’s nine-year history that Gardiner had headed the line-up, but his first win as both owner and handler.

Clearly delighted to claim the title, as well as the lucrative €5,000 purse, the Co Sligo man commented: “I won here when showing Dance With A Stranger for Jim Tempany back in 2010.

“I’m thrilled with my horse today and think he will be a good one. Apart from the qualifier at Ard Chuain, this was his first show and he behaved so well under the pressure.”

Indeed the gelding’s laidback temperament stood out in a class that looked extremely difficult to judge. In a highly-charged first phase around the triangle, the son of OBOS Quality was one of the few horses to relax and showcase correctly. As a result, he headed into the evening jumping session in second position and, gaining 72.5 of the remaining 80 marks, progressed to lead the field by a clear six points.

Bred by Andrew O’Connell in Co Monaghan and sourced from him as a yearling, the winning gelding is the first foal out of AOC Cruise Carel, by Harlequin Du Carel.

He hails from a family of numerous registered show jumpers, including Boolavogue Harley Cruise.

This year the class was presided over by Jean-Michel Foucher, a former event rider, and now event director and stud manager at the Haras National du Lion d’ Angers in France. While he was highly complimentary of the class and its format, he admitted that over-exuberance had marred the performances of many of the contenders.

“This morning it was hard to assess the conformation and paces, because of the tension, and my judgement was limited,” he remarked. “Whereas it was much easier to look at the jumping. This winning horse has a great brain, energy and ability, which is important, and I hope to be watching him at Le Lion d’Angers in a few years’ time.”

Taking second spot in the line-up was Julie Radden’s well-related gelding by Financial Reward. As the only traditionally-bred horse in the field of 15 (and the only one by a thoroughbred), the Co Wexford-bred three-year-old is the first foal out of Inistioge Dew, by Bonnie Prince.

His dam is a half-sister to the Italian Nations Cup event horse Inistioge Ohio, who, under Pietro Sandei, also represented Italy at the European championships in Blair Castle last year.

Success in this class was particularly poignant for his connections, as the gelding was bred by Radden’s partner Nick Murphy, who was tragically killed in a motorway accident in the UK earlier this year. Nick’s brother John had held the reins in the morning session, while JJ.Bowe was the handler for the final sector.

“Nick bred him to do the class,” disclosed Bowe. “He had always wanted to qualify one and sadly never lived to see the day.”

Moving up the order to fill third spot was Padraic Howley’s Sligo Candy Cane (dam by Aldatus Z) handled by Tiernan Gill. He was one of three entrants by the owner’s popular sire Sligo Candy Boy but, like many who failed to settle on the flat, he had massive ground to recover in the evening session.

This he did in style, edging ahead of Padraic Corcoran’s Riverview Candyman (Candy Sligo Boy) as well as fifth-placed Kroongraaf Lady Killer (Kroongraaf), owned by Austin Quigley and Imelda Dillon.

The entire concept proved fascinating for Foucher, who revealed that there are no specific classes or breeding programmes for young event horses in France.

“It is a pity and I’m happy to see this today,” he commented. “I do congratulate the breeders and presenters here - there were a lot of good horses, and it was difficult to say which ones will become future champions. The tension made it difficult, and many spoiled their chances by being over fresh. Overall I was looking for balance, temperament, an extended stride and a strong back.”