AS expected, Hippomundo’s prize money-based rankings show that Cooley Rosalent leads the eventing rankings after the Valent mare’s Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event win. Her breeder J.W. Rosbotham is the leading event horse breeder.

King Edward easily tops the show jumping horses’ rankings, after his recent World Cup final win and the highest-placed Irish Sport Horse (17th) is the newcomer Ballypatrick Tangelo. Bred near Thurles by John Carey, the eight-year-old picked up €154,206 for his third place in a lucrative 1.50m class in Mexico last weekend, with Argentina’s Juan Bautista Pidutti Hortas. The nine-year-old Tangelo gelding was competed here in Ireland by Kevin Gallagher and Clem McMahon before the horse’s sale to young Mexican rider Alberto Hawa Ascencio.

“Alberto trained with Greg [Broderick] while he was at school here. Greg produced the horse, Clem then finished him and he went off to Mexico as an eight-year-old,” John told The Irish Field this week. Billy McCruise, Ballypatrick Tangelo’s Vechta dam, was previously owned by Donal Barnwell: “And her grandmother was named Cawley, can you imagine who bred her?” The Cruising x Sky Boy granddam was indeed bred by the late Noel Cawley. Carey made a prediction about the colt: “He is going to be a superstar.” He, Ita Brennan and Mark Sherry are the current top-three Irish show jumping breeders.

The first of the WBFSH rankings were released this week. The ISH studbook is second and ninth in the eventing and show jumping rankings. Cooley Rosalent (Second), Cooley Nutcracker (Third. Tolan R. Breeder: Gary Doherty), Colorado Blue (Sixth. Jaguar Mail. Mellon Stud) and HSH Blake (Ninth. Tolan R. Justin Burke) appear amongst the top-10 event horses, while Maxwin Kinmar Agalux (64th. Aganix du Seigneur. Gerrard Marron) is the highest-placed ISH show jumper.