WHICH breed has claimed the most Burghley titles so far this millennium? The tally includes two thoroughbreds in Parklane Hawk and the Irish-bred Moonfleet (that tap-danced his way to a win with an impressive dressage score of 21.1), an Anglo-Arabian (Tamarillo) and several German and British-breds.

However, Irish Sport Horses win this race by the proverbial country mile.

Ballaghmor Class has just completed five Irish-bred wins at Burghley since the Limerick-bred started this winning streak in 2017. But for the pandemic, which caused Burghley’s cancellation in 2020 and 2021, perhaps he could well have added another.

However this grey owes little more to his connections. No wonder that Oliver Townend, a mega-supporter of Irish-bred event horses, describes ‘Thomas’ as his horse of a lifetime. Ballaghmor Class lives up to his name with one Kentucky and two Burghley titles, never placing lower than fifth in his nine five-star runs and was a member of the British gold medal team at the Tokyo Olympics where he finished fifth individually.

His first win in 2017 stemmed two years of German-bred wins: Nobilis 18 (2016) and La Biosthetique Sam FBW (2015) for the Hannoverian and Baden-Württemberg studbooks. Before then, it was the era of Avebury, the only horse to win Burghley three times.

For an event horse to get to Burghley is a milestone for many and so, to win there three years in-a-row is quite incredible.

You could make a case for adding Avebury to the Traditional Irish Horse fold. Avebury is the third–generation result of Archie Smith-Maxwell’s Mayo shopping trip to the Niland family in Balla. There he bought Jumbo’s Irish Draught sire Skippy and crossed him with another Irish buy, a Seven Bells mare, to produce Jumbo.

Avebury ticks all the Burghley fairytale checklist as the Jumbo grey, out of the thoroughbred mare Memento, was bred by Andrew Nicholson himself, who piloted his homebred to win a record three Burghley titles, the only horse to ever do so. And in addition to Avebury, Jumbo is also the sire of the Rolex Grand Slam mare Headley Britannia, the 2006 Burghley winner.

Few sires have produced two Burghley winners. The thoroughbred Ben Faerie did so back in the 1980s heyday of British-bred winners with dual champion Priceless.

Elite group

Courage II joined this elite group in 2018 when the veteran Ringwood Sky Boy won. In second place was Ballaghmor Class, a 1-2 for the Holsteiner stallion that stood at Tom Meagher’s Kedrah House Stud for just two and a-half covering seasons.

Looking back through the Burghley results of this millennium (pre-2000 bloodline details tend to be hazy), a number of Irish-based stallions had two, or, very rarely, three runners.

Continental-based thoroughbreds Fines and Heraldik appear on Burghley start lists as sires of two offspring, such as full-brothers Armada and Nereo (Fines) and Butts Abraxxas and Happy Times (Heraldik), as had Jumbo.

However, Irish-based stallions such as Ard VDL Douglas, Harlequin du Carel, Master Imp, OBOS Quality and Ricardo Z were the main double-handed Burghley sires. Jay Bowe’s Taldi deserves an honourable mention as not only the sire of the well-related 2002 winner Highland Lad but from a small book of mares, but for also producing Twinkle Bee (bred by Bowe). Competed by Germany’s Anna Warnecke, the legs-of-steel veteran bowed out from the five-star stage at 19 after recording 18 five-star starts and one top-10 Burghley place (ninth in 2010). Another great advertisement for Irish-breds.

In 2014, another Wexford-based stallion: the late Des Noctor’s Cult Hero had three runners (all in the top-20): Bay My Hero (fourth), The Deputy (ninth) and Westwood Mariner (14th)

The predominant sire is Courage II. 2017 saw two offspring: Ballaghmor Class (first) and Ringwood Sky Boy (fifth) in the Burghley top-five. The following year, the order was reversed with Ringwood Sky Boy taking the win, having been runner-up. A third Courage II runner in 2015 was Proud Courage while the following year, there were three: Ballaghmor Class (third), Camembert (14th) and Ringwood Sky Boy.

So, five wins in five years to add to five previous wins in this millennium. Long or short format, that’s a pretty phenomenal achievement by Irish Sport Horses, their riders, owners, stallions and, most of all, the breeders of these four-legged ambassadors.