THE two novice classes at Ballindenisk last Sunday went to horses produced at Carol Gee’s Fernhill Sport Horses yard in Kilkenny, although only the EI110 winner, the Fraser Duffy-partnered Fernhill Count On Me, is owned by Gee and carries her prefix.

This was a fourth Eventing Ireland start for the six-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, who very much dominated last year’s young event horse classes and the young dressage horse classes over the autumn/winter. He also has 39 Show Jumping Ireland points to his credit with success at 1.20m level.

The winner, second time out of an EI100 at Kilguilkey last month, Fernhill Count On Me upgraded with ease as he led this 27-runner field throughout, completing on his Marian Slattery-awarded flat work mark of 25.8 penalties.

The Chacoa bay was bred in Co Limerick by Joanne Murphy Hanley, out of the Aldatus Z mare Buttercup Elm.

Fernhill Count On Me bids for a second EI110 win at Grove tomorrow and is entered in the CCI1*-Intro at Kilguilkey next week. Bridget MacAuley never has too many horses but always has a nice one and took immense pleasure out of finishing second here with her home-bred Traditional Irish Horse mare Zena Rising whose total of 28.4 included 1.6 for time over the coloured poles. Making her debut at this level, the six-year-old Golden Master bay is out of Sesheta Flight (by Laughton’s Flight), dam previously of the Master Imp gelding Killossery Jupiter Rising (CCI3*).

Close result

Based at Fernhill Sport Horses, Andrew Williams and John Tilley are campaigning runners under their Kilkenny International banner which struck here as owner of the EI110 (Open) winner, Cooley And Co. The scorers had to have a second look at the result before declaring the Tilley-ridden ISH gelding the winner as both he and the Dominic Furnell-partnered Horlepiep had completed on their dressage scores of 29.3 penalties. Sian Coleman finished third with Kilroe Frolic (31).

Cooley And Co, who was making his Eventing Ireland debut, is a nine-year-old gelding by KEC Maximum Joe out of Doonbridge Datus (by Aldatus Z). From late June 2019 up to August last year, he was campaigned in Britain by Oliver Townend for owner Karyn Shuter, finishing 24th of 51 last time out in the CCI3*-L at Blair Castle in August. Tilley is due to partner Cooley And Co in the EI115 at Grove tomorrow.