SHOWING CLASSES:THE AIKEN Promotions youngstock championship was dominated yesterday by Lurgan exhibitor Hugh McCusker who showed the title winner Good Guy himself, with son Aaron taking charge of the reserve champion Big Bucks.
The winner was bred in Ballinasloe by Seán Lydon, who owns the three-year-old bay gelding’s sire Loughehoe Guy, and is out of a Colin Diamond mare.
Big Bucks, successful at the RDS as a yearling, is by the thoroughbred stallion Nash Me and was bred by Joseph Grace of Kildysart in Co Clare.
Challenging the Co Armagh team for top honours was Michael Feeney’s Kealderra Lady, which earlier had been crowned champion yearling, and the champion filly, Dermot Gordon’s unnamed two-year-old bay daughter of Kings Master. Kealderra Lady, a roan with four white legs which is by the thoroughbred Ballinvella Lad, had received the nod in the yearling division ahead of Ambrose Irwin’s chestnut Golden Lariat gelding Mr Talent.
There was also a whitewash in the ladies’ hunter championship for Co Down owners Trevor and Lorraine Wallace. Their winner was the English-based Shannon Beau, a five-year-old chestnut gelding by Big Sink Hope which was ridden by Lorraine Homer, with Vicky Ormedilla on board the reserve champion, the grey Kings Master gelding Adamstown, last year’s winner of the side-saddle title.
A large crowd gathered around Ring One in the morning to watch the judging of the Breeders’ Championship for which 18 mares with foals at foot had qualified from around the country. Taking the €5,000 first prize was Clonakilty exhibitor Kieran O’Gorman with his Bannow Rathagan qualified Kildysert Royal, a nine-year-old bay by Cavalier Royale, which was shown with her filly foal by the Hannovarian stallion Lux Z.
In second place was Daphne Tierney’s home-bred Sea Crest mare Bloomfield Rebekah and her colt by Ghareeb, with John and Cathal Dineen claiming third spot with their Big Sink Hope chestnut Kilshinihan Lass and her filly by Loughehoe Guy.
Spectator numbers had thinned out considerably by the time yesterday’s showing programme concluded with the coloured horse championship.
The new title holder, ridden by Jane Bovis, is the eight-year-old skewbald Rainbow Jacket, a gelding by the thoroughbred Our Jock which his owner, racehorse trainer Sabrina Harty, had partnered to win as a small hunter here three years ago.
The 2009 reserve champion is another eight-year-old skewbald, Cut Above, owned and ridden by Paddy Aspell.