ARMAGH COUNTY

Show jumping

JOHN Roche qualified his traditionally-bred mare Assagart Faithful, a six-year-old by the thoroughbred sire Coroner out of the Flagmount Diamond dam Assagart Saviour.

Since the family’s breakthrough win with Castleforbes Lord Lancer offspring, Roche has switched more to warmblood bloodlines as seen in the covering sire choice for his filly foal by Carrabis Z.

The Zangersheide stallion previously competed in the Dublin international classes with Richie Moloney and the pair’s final outing was in the 2018 Nations Cup held in Langley.

The Mermus R mare Greenhall Catwalk is back for Derry Rothwell. Four years ago she and her filly foal Greenhall April were reserve champions. That same offspring competes in the Dublin four-year-old show jumping classes this year and Greenhall April is a full-sister to Catwalk’s current filly foal at foot too.

All of Catwalk’s foals to date are by Dignified van’t Zorgvliet while her Cruising dam, Millennium Cruise, and grandam Greenhall Cailin Deas have both been winning mares in previous championships.

Eventing

Paula Howard won this championship seven years ago with Slatequarry Sasha and her Greenan Fort colt. This year her hopes lie with Balmoral and regular Dublin prizewinner Dernahatten Out Of Touch, a 10-year-old mare by the Group 1 winner Bienamado and with a Touchdown line dam.

Dernahatten Out Of Touch’s colt foal is by the British Sport Horse stallion Tiger Attack, who goes back to Lord Gayle and the H.I.S stallion Criminal Law, bloodlines well known by cross-channel breeders.

Kief Queen B has proved a good buy since spotted in the Bannow three-year-old final as Yvonne Pearson’s mare has won both the Coote Cup and reserve hunter mare titles at Dublin.

By the thoroughbred Munther and out of the Kings Master-Ricardo Z mare Madame Noir, she is back with Temperance, her filly foal this year.

Incidentally, Rosier, the foal’s thoroughbred sire, is amongst Drumhowan Stud’s entries for the Croker Cup.

ATHLONE

Show jumping

Linda Wafer’s Hot To Touch brought off the first part of a remarkable double last year for the Carnew family when she and her Quality Time colt won the show jumping section.

Although her winning stable companion Parkmore Evita, their winning mare in the 2022 eventing final, bowed out from the showring after that Dublin win, this Lancelot mare is back with her colt foal at foot by the Belgian-bred Vivant van de Heffinck.

It will be a first-time Breeders’ Championship appearance for Bridget Devanney’s Emme, although her Crossmolina owner also has Clew Bay Countess, a previous winner in the Irish Draught mare classes, lining out again next Thursday.

By the Voltaire son Voss, previously campaigned by Jessica Kürten, Emme herself competed up to 1.40m on the national Grand Prix circuit here and her colt foal is the Heartbreaker-sired Hardrock VDL.

Eventing

Making another return appearance is Richard Gildea’s Cranny Miss Lancelot, the second of the Lancelot mares to qualify for this year’s final. A consistent prizewinner for her Donegal owner, she goes back to Raise You Time and another thoroughbred in Glacier Mint.

And her colt foal Lewis brings another cross of thoroughbred blood to his pedigree as he is also the second of Rosier’s foal finalists this year.

The other combination to qualify at this midlands show is Mary Rothwell’s JVK Lady Marmalade, by the Swedish-bred Brilliant Lad (whose King of Diamonds dam was exported there) and out of a Primo Pageant dam.

Her foal is by the Tinahely family’s in-house stallion Greenhall. A traditionally-bred son of the five-time Dublin winner Crosstown Dancer, his dam Greenhall Cailin Deas won the 1998 final.

The 2016 Breeders' Championship winner, Slatequarry Sasha is back next week in the eventing section \ RDS

CHARLEVILLE

Show jumping

Athlone owner Colm Cuffe is usually spotted Simmonscourt-side for most of Dublin Horse Show week, where he has enjoyed good success in recent years with his young show jumping and event horses.

However, he was persuaded by Lorcan Glynn to enter the Air Jordan Z mare Legaland Con Air, competed up to 1.30m level by Ita McDermott, and her Camargo colt foal for the Charleville qualifier. They duly qualified and Ring 1 will now be another port of call for the family.

As he recently described in his humorous Breeders’ 10 feature, a post-Covid bucket list wish came true for ‘the man from Inchicore’ Emelyn Heaps. He will lead wife Gina’s Carrowgar Je T’Aime, by Billy Twomey’s 1.60m horse Je T’Aime Flamenco and with a Coolcorran Cool Diamond dam line, in this year’s final.

At foot is Carrowgar Tangela, her Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve filly foal.

Eventing

Kieran O’Gorman’s good servant Brookfield Miss Lux and her dam Kildysart Royale won the Breeders’ Championship back in 2009. That Cavalier Royale dam is one of only four mares (Assagart My Only Hope, Golden Sunset and Springpark Lady Nell being the other three) to win on two or more occasions.

The Lux Z mare returns with another foal at foot by O’Gorman’s own thoroughbred stallion Munther.

Another stalwart supporter Richard Drohan took the second qualifying spot at Charleville. The Waterford dairy farmer, who owns a part-share in the local pub that was at risk of closing before a community venture took action, qualified with Golden Moments and her colt foal.

By Golden Master out of a Pointilliste dam, it is Golden Moments’ first Dublin appearance and her foal is by the latest thoroughbred resident at Michael Murphy’s Clohamon Stud: News Anchor.

WEST CLARE

Show jumping

On to Kilrush where the final chance to qualify for Dublin led to the largest entries. Dermot O’Sullivan, who had previously owned Assagart My Only Hope and won himself in 2015 with Aidensfield Flamenco, topped the show jumping line-up with his HHS Cornetta Royale.

She is by the popular show jumping sire Cornet Obolensky, and her dam HHS Florida is by Marion Hughes’ Athens Olympics horse Heritage Fortunus. This year’s filly foal is by Querido VG Z.

Securing the final qualifying place is the second of two Mayo owners in this year’s show jumping section final, Michael Egan, who qualified Oakfield Sweetheart and her colt foal by DS Shotgun.

One of two greys in this year’s line-up - the other being Richard Drohan’s Golden Moments - she has a Womanizer-Guidam-Voltaire pedigree in her damline while her fourth dam is the Connolly family’s good broodmare Olympic Clover.

Eventing

Topping the eventing section that day was Slatequarry Sasha for John Burchill whose Breeders’ 10 feature appears in the Irish Horse World section.

Between this 2016 dual Breeders’ Championship and Coote Cup champion mare and the two-time winner Parkmore Evita, their sire Ghareeb is the most successful sire in the championship’s recent history.

Slatequarry Sasha has another foal at foot by Kylemore Stud’s five-star stallion Tyson.

Another Breeders’ Championship newcomer is Pat Finn from Oranmore whose Frenchfort Grace and filly by HC Chelis Z took the final place on offer.

By O.B.O.S Quality OO4, Frenchfort Grace is a half-sister to the recent All Ireland yearling filly champion at Bridgetown, also owned by Pat.

Both his Breeders’ Championship mare contender and his All Ireland champion, from a Lux Z - Big Sink Hope damline, were bred in Kildysart by Gerry Grace.

That’s a snapshot of this year’s hopefuls. We’ll know who the winner is next Friday when The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship takes place after the Laidlaw young horse championship.