EDDIE Moloney and his own Temple Alice won the 12th round of the TRM/Showjumpers Club Spring Tour Grand Prix League in Tipperary Equestrian Centre last Saturday.

The well-supported round saw 45 combinations line out and Moloney was best of eight clears in the 15-horse jump-off with his own and TSI Equestrian’s 10-year-old gelding.

Speaking after the class, a delighted Moloney said: “The horse jumped great. It was a very fast class. I thought I had it well won after my round but Rhys (Williams) came very close to me, he had a great round and was only 0.03 of a second slower. He was very unlucky not to leave a stride out from fence one to two; if that had come off for him he would have beaten me.

“I’ve done a couple of rounds of the Spring Tour with this horse really to get him ready for the National Grand Prix league and Premier Series. He has a good record here in Tipperary, he’s won an Autumn Series Grand Prix and a Munster Grand Prix here.

“He’s a talented horse. He was off for a year but prior to that he won in Dublin as a six-year-old and then last year he was third in the eight and nine-year-olds in Dublin and one week later won a Breeders’ Classic class in Barnadown.

“I plan to do a couple more of these classes in the run-up to the first round of the Premier Series in Portmore. This is a great league and TRM do a great job supporting it. As you can see it is giving the young riders an opportunity to compete at Grand Prix level. I am starting to feel very old with so many of them doing so well! It is making myself, Robert (Splaine), Seamus (Hayes) and a few others feel a bit long in the tooth.

“I’m also very grateful to my own sponsors, CWD and Gain Equine Nutrition who provide me with the best tack and feed for the horses.

“The Ryan family did a fantastic job putting on this show. It was nice to have a day away after spending the day last Thursday as an organiser at home in Warrington.”

Competitive

Some 45 combinations lined out for the 1.35m competition. Of these, just 15 managed to produce a first round to progress to the timed decider.

Liam O’Meara and his seven-year-old stallion Big Dan Du Rouet (Querlybet Hero - Harlequin Du Carel) just missed out collecting a single time fault in round one. Fourteen combinations had one fence down, while two more notched up six faults.

Moloney and the ever consistent 10-year-old gelding Temple Alice (Foxglen Cruise Control x Rantis Diamond) stopped the clock after a foot-perfect round at 34.57 to secure the victory and the lion’s share of the €2,500 on offer.

Junior rider Rhys Williams and the German-bred mare Conthaja PS, owned by Williams Sporthorses, came closest to catching the pair with their double clear round in 34.60 which put them into the runner-up spot.

Jim O’Neill’s Castlefied Cass (Cassidee x Puissance), ridden by Jackilynn Breslin, secured another good placing when finishing in third, breaking the finish beam in 34.91.

Fourth place went to another junior rider, Timmy Brennan aboard Tim Brennan’s eight-year-old GCS Ita (OBOS Quality x MHS Attraction) in 36.92, while fifth was former Irish chef d’equipe Robert Splaine riding TLK Equine Ventures LLC and Mike Kovanda’s gelding Cambridge (Cloney x Stakkato).

Williams and his second mount, the German-bred gelding Cowboy Balou completed the winning line-up in sixth. Sarah Fitzgerald (HHS Lou) and Timmy Brennan (Diadema Della Caccia) were the last of the double clears in seventh and eighth place.

Ciara Fives (YR) and Future Storm, winners of the 1.25m at Tipperary Equestrian \ Rolf Stenberg jumpinaction.net

Victory for Fives

Young Rider Ciara Fives earned a well-deserved win in Saturday afternoon’s Boomerang.ie-sponsored 1.25m two-phase when she guided Future Storm (Future Trend x Cruising) to a double clear round in a time of 28.62 in the 47-strong class.

Francis Connors took second place with Michael Hayden’s Primo Cino (Pacino x Cruising) when they stopped the clock at 29.37.

Young rider Sean Dooley and Indie Girl (Ballintogher Leo x Quabri De Laleu) recorded a time of 31.20 to take third place.

Tadhg Beecher and his father Tim’s seven-year-old gelding Loughnatousa Olaf (Cruising Harry) were fourth in 32.48, while Emily Dean and her own eight-year-old Poynstown Izzy (OBOS Quality x Chillout) were fifth.

Molly Hughes Bravo rode her mother Marion Hughes’s seven-year-old gelding HHS Calgary (Luidam x Don Juan De La Bouverie) into sixth place.

Amateur riders dominated in the Sportsfield Horses 1.15m two-phase on Saturday morning with Katie Frazer and her own Keylogues Gold (Mr Clover x Kildalton Gold) taking the top-spot by a significant margin of over four seconds in a time of 37.08.

Fellow amateur Gary Flynn with Argento Cruise (Arko III x Cruising) finished in the runner-up spot in 41.83. Francis Connors and Alan Briscoe’s seven-year-old Cohiba By Picobello (Cornet Obolensky x Arezzo VDL) were third in 44.98. Connors also slotted into fourth place aboard his other mount Alberta Capital Limited’s six-year-old mare Corlanda Junior (Womanizer - Corlando).

Carl Webb was fifth riding the Bravo Hughes Ltd-owned six-year-old HHS Tokyo (Z Seven Ascot x Catoki) while another Francis Connors mount, Raymond McChesney’s seven-year-old RNH Valentino (Van Gogh x Beach Ball) were sixth.