Unshown before he bought her “out of a field in Co. Louth” last October from Sid Murphy, Lady Fassagh was this year’s broodmare champion for the Cleary family from Athlone. The huge Porsch–Crosstown Dancer grey won a strong stinted mare class and immediately caught the eye of the judges, Michael Cook and John Warren.“I would have taken at least four mares home with me,” said an impressed Cook, a sport horse breeder from Somerset.
Unshown before he bought her “out of a field in Co. Louth” last October from Sid Murphy, Lady Fassagh was this year’s broodmare champion for the Cleary family from Athlone. The huge Porsch–Crosstown Dancer grey won a strong stinted mare class and immediately caught the eye of the judges, Michael Cook and John Warren.
“I would have taken at least four mares home with me,” said an impressed Cook, a sport horse breeder from Somerset.
Standing reserve in the Coote Cup decider was Patrick Wafer’s Parkmore Evita, fresh from her success in The Irish Field Breeders Championship the previous day. The Ghareeb mare, champion here two years ago, won a quality lightweight mare class, with last year’s champion Yvonne Pearson’s Munther mare Kief Queen B in second.
Parkmore Evita’s Tyson foal Parkmore Tyson won the colt class. Derry Rothwell, who bred the yearling and two-year-old reserve champions: his Greenhall Heatwave (Dignifed Van’t Zorgvliet) and Dessie Gibson’s Greenhall All Business, by his own stallion Greenhall, Rothwell also won the filly foal class with Greenhall Emerald Isle (Island Commander) out of the family’s Wishing Well, she was another foal that would have been eligible for the now-defunct thoroughbred-sired foal class.
“Retrograde step” and “A disaster” were some of the comments from exhibitors about the loss of this particular class.
P.J Lehane’s homebred P.J’s Delight (Lux Z), won the opening heavyweight mare class for the third consecutive year at the start of the Brooklands Bedding-sponsored morning.
Unique double
Having won the Topspec supreme title for the first time last year with Somerville, P.J. Casey was back in the limelight again last Saturday morning when the aptly-named Crown Star swept through the championships. Owned by his wife Sonya, the couple created a unique Dublin husband-and-wife producer record as Sonya was on board the reserve supreme Greenhall Push Button.
The charismatic bay, who continually watched himself on the main arena big screen, won the four-year-old and heavyweight titles, ahead of this year’s Balmoral champion, Daphne Tierney’s Bloomfield Aristocrat, before landing the overall title too. By Shannonview Star (Guidam) and out of a Coevers Diamond Boy dam, the champion was bred in Lissycasey by Laurence Culligan and was successfully sold at Dublin. Hilary Gibson’s Tullynagee Applejack, by Porsch, was this year’s middleweight champion.
“He (Crown Star) just stood out from the heavyweight class on Thursday. A lovely, lovely horse, his bone, way of going and he’s got the most handsome head, a proper hunter head. I really hope I have the privilege of sitting on him again one day,” said judge Julian White.
White and John Keen opted for Sean Barker’s Irish Draught stallion Gortfree Lakeside Lad (Gortfree Hero) in the final hunter championship on Sunday.
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