MIKEY Pender won the Mo Chroi four-year-old final for the first time at last week’s Dublin Horse Show and brought the Seamus Hughes Perpetual Challenge Trophy back to Marion Hughes’ HHS Stud aboard the exciting stallion HHS Flonix.

Winner of both qualifiers on Thursday and Friday in the Simmonscourt Arena, the big ranging chesnut stallion by Aganix du Seigneur Z impressed Saturday’s judges, former Olympic champion Nick Skelton and the two ride judges William Whitaker and Kars Bonhoff, to be crowned champion ahead of Vincent Byrne and Lorraine MacGuinness’ Gone Girl VB (Emerald van’t Ruytershof x Cobra).

Bred by Brendan McSorely in Co Tyrone, HHS Flonix is out of the Clover Echo mare Echo Peach who is a full-sister to the 1.60m performer Echo Beach. One of the six four-year-olds to make it through to the final, he got a bit unruly in the first round and stopped at a fence but did enough to impress the judges and the crowds that gathered to watch the stars of the future.

In the second round, under British international rider William Whitaker, he really shone, scoring the full 50 marks for ‘future potential’. A final score of 114.0 saw him crowned the champion, ahead of the Eleanor Byrne-bred Gone Girl VB on 140.2. Deane Rogan’s Leestone Cascornet (Cornet Obolensky x Cascarillo), owned by Declan McGarry, was third on a final score of 138.5.

Leah Stack finished fourth and sixth with the PJ Ryan-owned and bred Moynetemple Magic (Cornet Obolensky x Arko III) (138.5) and GBBS Int Ltd’s home-bred BP Finn McCool (Luidam x Laughton’s Flight) (119.8), respectively, while Clare Abbott was fifth with MT Luxaan (Cazaan x Lux Z) (123.5), bred by Gareth Carlisle and owned in partnership with Abbott.

Good family

Pender’s boss, Marion Hughes, owns the winner with Seamus McSorley: “He is out of a sister to Echo Beach and Echo Beach’s mother was a half-sister to Flo Jo so he is very closely related to Flo Jo (1.60m), that is why we call him Flonix,” Marion said of the connection to her famous jumping mare who won back-to-back Queen Elizabeth Cups in 1995 and 1996.

“I just think he is a gorgeous horse, he has so much scope. He has about 50 foals on the ground already this year, from covering last year so that will be nice to see something coming on.

“He has a full-brother as well that is jumping and looks really nice, an eight-year-old called Echonix, and he has a lot of nice progeny on the ground as well.

“We decided we would try to win this this year, because he is such a good horse, you like to win it with a good horse. I won it years ago with Transmission and I knew he was a superstar so it is nice to repeat it, and especially since it is my father’s class. He is very talented, I think he is one of the best horses I have ever had in my stable. The plan is to keep him and produce him.

“He is a beautiful ride and I like to ride him myself. Today he got a bit agitated, when they are stallions I suppose that can happen.

“He was so consistent the last three days, he rode perfectly and was super obedient and he did everything perfect so we were all a bit shocked today when he was a little unruly… something annoyed him, maybe he bit his lip or something like that!”