THE final leg of the Baileys Horse Feeds flexi-eventing series was staged by the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland at The Meadows last Saturday when the Michael McGaffin-ridden Ballela To Milan emerged as the highest-placed thoroughbred.

The seven-year-old Dylan Thomas gelding, who failed to worry the judge in a Downpatrick bumper and three outings over hurdles, completed the series on 61.5 points with his nearest rival for the Treo Eile-sponsored prize being the 12-year-old French-bred gelding Miguel Angel who accumulated 53 points under Downpatrick’s Sharon Madine.

The series winner incidentally was Lisburn’s Denis Currie with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Arodstown Aramis (80 points).

Based at his family’s Diablo Equine yard on the outskirts of Banbridge, McGaffin only rides Ballela To Milan in performance competitions as he is being produced for owner Zara McAvoy by Julie Donaghy Simpson who partnered the chesnut to finish reserve in last year’s ITM All-Ireland racehorse to riding horse championship.

Julie will ride Ballela To Milan in ‘flat’ classes again this year with his early season targets being the Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan (April 22nd to 24th) and then Balmoral Show (May 11th to 14th).

The NIF last ran in 2019 when Julie won the racehorse to riding horse championship on the ex-Sarah Dawson-trained Shawstown so she is hoping to complete a long term back-to-back double.

McGaffin will have the ride on Ballela To Milan ‘over jumps’ and the pair are due to make their Eventing Ireland debut as a combination at the Northern Region’s first fixture of the season, which takes place on Saturday, March 26th at Tyrella, venue for today’s East Down point-to-point.