DUMFRIES-based Kirsty Douglas, who has ridden many Irish-bred hunters and cobs to championship success in the show ring and has judged the same here on occasion, landed the RoR Elite Performance Award for showing at last week’s Jockey Club Retraining of Racehorses National Championships on the Irish-bred Rich Man Poor Man.

During the finale of Saturday’s evening performance in the Aintree Equestrian Centre, Morean Hamilton’s nine-year-old Robin Des Champs gelding, who had earlier won the Tattersalls RoR open ridden show horse SPECIAL 2022 championship, faced opposition from the winners of the other prestige qualifying classes.

After much deliberation by judges Marion Begley, Lucinda Freedman, Emma Balding and north Co Dublin-born Merseyside trainer Pat Morris, Rich Man Poor Man was announced as supreme champion.

He stood head of last year’s winner of the title, the 10-year-old King’s Theatre gelding Minella Rebellion (Katie Dashwood), while the 18-year-old Moscow Society gelding Minella (Jo Bearcroft) was second reserve.

Another Irish-bred horse who advanced to the evening finale was the seven-year-old Frozen Power gelding Burnieboozle.

He stood between Rich Man Poor Man and Minella Rebellion in the open ridden show horse championship but topped the final line-up in the Tattersalls RoR open in-hand show series 2022 championship for Sophie Staveley.

Rich Man Poor Man is the only horse registered with Weatherbys out of the unraced Jimble mare Mistaken Identity, a half-sister to the Winged Love gelding Magnanimity whose four wins included both a novice hurdle and a novice chase at Grade 2 level.

Fittingly, this is also the family of the 2004 Grand National winner, Amberleigh House.

Consigned

The supreme champion was consigned to the 2013 November National Hunt Sale as a foal by Ballyash Stud and was purchased for €15,000 by Rathbarry Stud. He made €1,000 less when sold at the Goffs Land Rover Sale as a three-year-old to Phil Kirby for whom he ran five times over hurdles, pulling up on four occasions and finishing ninth.

Reflecting on Saturday evening’s result, Douglas said: “I am absolutely over the moon. Robbie (Rich Man Poor Man) is just a fabulous horse and I am so delighted for his owner, Morean Hamilton, who is a fantastic supporter of mine and of RoR. We’re qualified for two classes at HOYS (Horse of the Year Show) in October and so we will have a bit of downtime now and prepare for that. It’s a dream come true.”

The five-day show commenced with three days of dressage. On the Tuesday, there was a win for the 2009 King’s Best gelding Danny’s Best (Sarah Raw), who ran twice as a four-year-old for the late Dessie Hughes, in the RoR Preliminary championship.

The following day, Que Sera (Jo Hales), a 2010 Rakti gelding who won a maiden hurdle in 2015 for the Philip Hobbs yard, landed the Elementary championship.

On the Thursday, there was a Novice championship success for the 20-year-old Alderbrook gelding Ardent Buck (Rebecca Holmes) and a Preliminary championship victory for the 15-year-old Choisir gelding Feed The Goat (Sarah Ahrens) whose racing career for Amy Murphy was confined to three starts.

Qualifying rounds

An interesting winner of one of the qualifying rounds in the show jumping sector was Katachenko whose rider, Abbie McCain, recently announced her retirement from the racing saddle.

The 2009 Kutub gelding, who won two hurdle races and two chases for McCain’s father Donald, started his career with Colin Bowe who saddled him to win his point-to-point maiden as a four-year-old in Toomebridge.

Other winners to note were the 11-year-old Mahler gelding Reality Bites, the 17-year-old Redback mare Redbackcappuchino and the 10-year-old Tagula gelding Limato whose 14 track successes included the 2016 runnings of the Group 1 Prix de la Foret and the Group 1 July Cup.

Di Arbuthnot, RoR Chief Executive, said: “It is a very special event with an atmosphere like no other. There is a genuine feel-good factor walking around Aintree and it is heart-warming to see so many former racehorses looking so well with their devoted owners and riders.

“It was also notable this year how many fabulous looking older horses we had competing, not least the 20-year-old winner of the Elite Performance Award for dressage, My Diss Sire.

“This horse had a short-lived, six-month racing career but is still thriving 17 years later. Such feats are testament to the opportunities RoR has created for these horses.

“Our thanks again to The Jockey Club and Aintree for their support and we are already looking forward to next year.”

LAST weekend the Irish Pony Club/Connolly’s Red Mills eventing championships were held at Tattersalls Ireland where the 36-runner Intro Intermediate was won by the former point-to-pointer Skylanna Scatman.

The eight-year-old Tajraasi gelding, who last ran in May 2021, was ridden by Killinick Branch member Lilymai Berry who not only won the grade championship for the Barbara Micks trophy when completing on her dressage score on Sunday, but also divided the Intro Intermediate league honours with Shillelagh’s Jane Fitzgerald.

And, that’s not all. As rider of the leading thoroughbred over the higher graded classes (Open, Intermediate and Intro Intermediate), 17-year-old Berry was presented with a training bursary by Treo Eile, the not-for-profit organisation which “connects, supports and promotes” the retraining of racehorses for a second career.

Based in the National Equine Innovation Centre in Tully, Kildare, Treo Eile was represented at Tattersalls Ireland by its Executive Officer, Anne O’Connor, who was delighted to learn that Lilymai had taken on the project of retaining a racehorse during Transition Year at Loreto College, Wexford.

Skylanna Scatman, who is out of the Saddlers’ Hall mare Howyanow, finished second twice in 11 point-to-point starts between February 2020 and May 2021 when trained first by Cormac Doyle and then Francis Kavanagh.

The bay’s potential as a competition horse was first spotted by Shannon Hynes who then advertised him on DoneDeal in October.

Berry’s father M.J., who trains point-to-pointers and represented Ireland in eventing at Young Riders’ level, takes up the story.

“He looked ordinary in the advert but, as he was local and as Lilymai had earned a purse to go horse-shopping, we went to see him.

“From first sight, we knew we were not going home without him – he ticked all the boxes, conformation, elegance, temperament, not overly big and a girl’s ride – the more Lilymai rode him the bigger the smile was.”

The combination was second in the Clipper Logistics thoroughbred finale at the Treo Eile Pro/Celebrity show jumping classic at JAG Equestrian in December and, in March, qualified for the six-to-eight-year-old performance championship at Balmoral Show.

“We kept him at novice schools’ show jumping and IPC Intro Intermediate eventing level this year to allow him to develop mentally,” said Lilymai. “The plan is to move up to Intermediate eventing and open schools show jumping next year.”

THE EI110 class at the recent Eventing Ireland one-day at Tattersalls Ireland was won by another Co Wexford-produced thoroughbred, the unraced Garrybritt Susie, who is owned by her rider, Commandant Terence White.

This seven-year-old September Storm mare was bred by White’s father Terry out of the Zaffaran mare Pennybar who won two point-to-points.