SHOW CLASSES:THE LAIDLAW Cup is heading to Co Clare following yesterday's win in the youngstock championship of an unnamed two-year-old gelding shown for Lissycasey exhibitor Michael O'Callaghan by his son Vincent.
This has been a good month for the bay, which is by the Hannovarian stallion Lux Z. He won the all-Ireland two-year-old championship at Tinahely show earlier in the month and, on Thursday, took the title for that age group at the RDS as well.
Bred near Templemore by Kieran Broderick out of the Dock Leaf mare Skehanas Linda, the gelding was crowned all-Ireland yearling champion last July in Ennis. The animal has already been sold to top English show horse owner Jill Day, who also purchased the 2011 winner, Caesars Palace.
It has been a good show for the O’Callaghan family. Late on Thursday, Vincent won the Horse Sport Ireland three-year-old fillies’ loose performance class with another unnamed bay by Kedrah House Stud’s Lux Z. This home-bred was out of the Cruising mare Miss Oak.
The youngstock judges, Derek Ricketts and Rosemary Hetherington, picked as their reserve champion John and Julie Crosbie’s Mr Kingsley, who won the three-year-old title on Thursday.
The dark brown gelding is by the Irish sport horse stallion Kings Master out of the Grange Woman, by Edmund Burke, and was bred in Co Carlow by Seadna O’Neill.
The champion filly, shown by David Lyons, was Ronnie McCombe’s three-year-old by the thoroughbred Emperor Augustus. Bred by Banbridge’s John Donaghy out of a Big Sink Hope mare. This bay took the distaff title ahead of the champion yearling, PJ’s Dream, which is also out of a mare by Big Sink Hope.
The bay, which is by Lux Z, was shown by her Clonakilty breeder PJ Lehane, who is no stranger to success in the RDS rings.
In the prestigious breeders’ championship, sponsored by the Irish Field, the result was very similar to that of last year, with Tinahely exhibitor Derry Rothwell winning ahead of Clonakilty’s Kieran O’Gorman.
Rothwell’s successful combination were the home-bred Cruising mare Greenhall Dot and her filly foal by Ars Vivendi.
The five-year-old chestnut is out of the Mister Lord mare Greenhall Cailin Deas, whose 1998 daughter Millennium Cruise (another by Cruising) won this class 12 months ago with her colt by Mermus R.
O’Gorman took second spot with Kildysart Royale, the winner here in 2009 and 2010. Yesterday, the 12-year-old bay Cavalier Royale mare was shown with a colt foal by Lux Z.