TWO days of several All Ireland finals were ran off by the ISA with the first taking place in July at Charleville.

Regina Daly’s Say No More took the first part of an All Ireland-Balmoral double by winning the three-year-old final from 15 entries, the largest number by far on the day. Reserve was John Roche’s Assagart Hopes & Desire, a full-brother to his 2017 Laidlaw Cup champion Assagart Lord Lancer, also the winning foal in The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship three years previously.

The colt foal final was a posthumous winning sire victory for the 2017 Croker Cup champion Darsi, the sire of Declan Daly’s winner Winston.

In the youngstock finals, William and Aidan Williamson’s Spotlight (Financial Reward. Tom Newell) and Ian Murphy’s home-bred Barnaview Dancing Queen (Singing and Dancing) were the yearling final champions. Darragh Glynn’s Crannaghmore Emir’s Cailin, by another former Croker Cup champion, Elusive Emir, won the two-year-old sport horse filly final, while in the Irish Draught equivalent, Eddie Murphy’s Oxview Grace (Inisfree The Holy Grail. Gerry Ferguson) stood champion.

Roscommon

For the second day at Roscommon, in September, Jimmy Noone’s combination of Crusheen Breeze (Coolcronan Wood. Jeremiah O’Donoghue) and her Tors Gentleman Farmer colt won the Leitrim Breeders mare/foal combination championship. Padraig Bohan’s Gortfadda Diamond (Innisfree The Iron Cross) and James Duffy’s Kilmovee Castana (Kilmovee White Hero) won the filly and colt Irish Draught foal finals, with Duffy’s colt by his own stallion standing overall Irish Draught foal champion.

In the fourth Irish Draught final, John Corbett’s Clonfad Close Diamond (Carrickrock Close Shave. Michael Scott) won the yearling filly championship, while in the traditional foal ring, the overall champion was Frank Redmond’s Financial Reward colt. The reserve traditional foal title went to Michael Dooner’s Loughehoe Guy filly, one of several such traditional champions produced by her Dunkerrin Grey Mist dam, Vanity Fare.

Loughehoe Guy was also the sire of the sport horse filly champion: Mary Murphy’s CG Blaze of Glory, recording one All Ireland win for Mayo that September weekend. With the triumphant Duffys on their way home for a wedding afters, the Redmond convoy planning a pit stop to celebrate on the way home to Wicklow and stalwarts Michael and Madge Casey at the ringside, there was a glimmer of the old show scene in Roscommon.