IT’S just over three months since a unique father-and-son double happened at Newmarket-on-Fergus, the first agricultural show of the summer. That day, Tiernan Gill and his son Alex stood champion and reserve with two fillies: a three-year-old and yearling. And last Friday morning, ringside pundits speculated that there may be a repeat of that day.

There’s few as shrewd - or as sporting - in the show ring business though as Gill, who knows anything could - and often should - happen in championships. If winning a title or class the previous Sunday makes it an automatic right and foregone conclusion that horse or pony must then remain unbeaten at the next show, then surely later shows could save time by posting their prize money and rosettes to all Newmarket-on-Fergus winners.

How did the young horse classes at Dublin unfold this year? First up on Thursday were the two-year-olds and the West Cork ringside whispers rose in decibels about the chances of John Walsh’s Gatsby’s Girl in the Laidlaw after the homebred Darsi x Lux Z filly won the two-year-old championship.

Standing reserve champion to this dual All-Ireland yearling and two-year-old filly titleholder was equine physiotherapist Sharon Kelly Murphy’s heavyweight class winner Annaghmore Dunkirk. Bred by Aoife Healion in Co Offaly, he was one of two winners that morning by the Cornet Obolensky son HHS Cornet, the other being Julie Radden’s lightweight gelding class winner Master Clinton, young horse champion at Bannow & Rathangan.

Gill’s Flogas Penelope was next to throw down her challenge for supreme honours the following day when she won the three-year-old championship. By the Kannan son Jardonnay VDL, she was bought as a foal in Holland where she was bred by A. De Krom.

Beribboned: Flogas Penelope, Tiernan Gill’s three-year-old, filly and supreme young horse champion at Dublin \ Susan Finnerty

George Chapman’s flashy chesnut Commander Corporate, by the Westfalian stallion Corporal VDL and one of several Dublin prize winners bred by MJ Kavanagh, stood reserve three-year-old champion. The afternoon’s other red ribbon was Jason Dunphy’s lightweight Viva’s Star, the recent big winner in the Brian Boru final at Clarecastle.

Friday frenzy

Roll on Friday morning when it’s just non-stop championships once the yearling classes are decided. The first round in the yearling colt/gelding class went to Flogas Syb, when the big-moving roan-grey gave Alex Gill his first Dublin win.

In the following filly class, it was Pat Finn’s un-named Chelis HC Z filly, who added this to her recent All-Ireland title win at Bridgetown. Another out of a Lux Z dam, she was bred in Kildysart by Gerard Grace. It was refreshing to see how breeders were allowed into Ring 1 for photos with their champions.

When Tiernan Gill, who produces this elegant bay filly for Finn, was called forward as champion, it set up a near-unprecedented feat of all three Dublin age championships won by fillies. And then, the second-placed yearling gelding, Alistair McDonald’s TMS Point Break, a chesnut by the Darco son Oganna Sitte was announced as reserve.

That reversal of the class result caused a buzz around the ringside as the filly championship judging got underway by Bernard le Courtois and Richard Ramsay. Three worthy fillies, but it was Flogas Penelope that won the magnificent Owen Ryan Cup, presented to the filly champion and in reserve was Gatsby’s Girl.

Widen the net

The traditional championship was next and unfortunately attracted just three eligible candidates this year. Perhaps the net could be widened by extending the eligibility to the top-three prize winners, instead of the current top-two. “To me, the only tragedy was in the Irish-bred [championship], there were only three,” Richard Ramsay commented afterwards.

It was a win here for yet another MJ Kavanagh-bred: Daphne Tierney’s Bloomfield Waterville. By the thoroughbred Lucarelli out of the Watermill Swatch mare AFS Grace Kelly, the three-year-old gelding stood traditional champion ahead of Ann Lyons’ yearling Greenhall Striking Lady. This Move To Strike filly was the All-Ireland traditional foal champion last September at Mountbellew for her Tinahely breeder Derry Rothwell.

The last championship left standing was the Laidlaw Cup presented to the supreme champion young horse and the atmosphere around Ring 1 was electric as the contenders gave their all in that last-chance trot past the judges.

It was the reserve champion two-year-old Annaghmore Dunkirk, led by Shirley Hurst, that was called forward as the reserve supreme before Flogas Penelope was announced as this year’s Laidlaw champion.

This was the third time the Gill family has won the Laidlaw Cup, having previously done so 19 years ago with Flogas Marbella (Into The West) and then again with Flogas River Moy (2007, Limmerick).

Their latest champion was covered this year by Grandorado TN so is unlikely to bid for the €10,000 bonus on offer should any of last week’s three-year-old winners return to the RDS to win one of the show hunter classes in 2024.

There was one more Ring 1 championship last Friday to involve some of the morning’s cast and that was the Pembroke Cup awarded to the home-bred champion. Gatsby’s Girl triumphed here ahead of Julie Radden’s Master Clinton.

Tremendous presence

Both judges were unanimous in their praise for Flogas Penelope. “Tremendous presence when she walked in, she’s looking through her bridle and a very good mover. When she trotted, she was in a rhythm whereas some of them, because they’re so fresh, they were over-running,” said Richard Ramsay.

“Her conformation is very good and she seems to have a very good temperament,” added le Courtois, who had some finer judging intricacies explained to him by his co-judge, including the fact that every championship starts afresh.

“This is what I was explaining to Bernard (that second-placed horses can come up to win a championship or reserve). In the yearling championship, the grey gelding (Flogas Syb) was tired, he had lost it, whereas the chesnut (TMS Point Break) said ‘I can move’. He had a lot of scope. A championship is a separate class, if a horse goes flat, you have to think again.”

Apart from supporting some upcoming local shows, Tiernan Gill’s year has finished with most of the horses out to grass. “Sitting here at my office desk at 6.30am on Monday morning with a box full of red rosettes and sashes in front of me... it lets me know what a fantastic week we just have had. I get all the glory of showing these beautiful animals but these ribbons would not be here, only for the help of the team behind me and great credit has to go to head girl Susan McGinty and Jonathan McDonnell in the yard and my wife Caroline, son Alex, daughter Alli and her friend Rachel, my mum Maura, sister Adrienne and her family,” he told The Irish Field before departing on a family holiday.

“Dublin Horse Show is a real family affair for us. It is weeks like this we can only dream about. Dublin has a very special place in every equestrian’s heart but for me, this week was like a little bit of heaven.”