Late friends, show ring debutantes and Father’s Day were very much the themes of last weekend’s shows, when that great horseman Tommy Brennan was commemorated with a new traditional-bred championship at a sun-baked Gorey. The inaugural winner was Margaret Jeffares’ homebred young horse champion Ballykelly Empress (Emperor Augustus) with the three-year-old filly’s stable companion Ballykelly Flashdance (Gortfree Hero) taking reserve in both championships.

Johnston Brodie’s lovely Kurumba (Cruising) was found by his late wife Lesley in Cumbria, where the Burghley young event horse prizewinner was foaled, and the nine-year-old won the Gorey broodmare title on her showring debut.

Pat Murphy’s Silvano colt was the foal champion, while Danny Molloy’s Fast Silver mare Baltydaniel Silver Queen won the tricolour in a strong Irish Draught section. Bloomfield Executive (Amiro M) completed a Gorey hunter championship treble for owner Daphne Tierney and producer Jane Bradbury and Aoife O’Connor’s 143cm show hunter Valentine Dignity was the ridden pony champion.

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Losing their RDS Breeders Championship qualifier was a talking point at Gorey, which produced the two most recent Dublin final winners.

Galway County

The Galway County qualifier the following day produced a dream result for local owner Mark Folan who qualified his Touchdown mare Milchem Touch and her OBOS Quality filly at his first ever show. Richard Drohan’s Lucy’s Princess (Power Blade) and Stephen Culliney’s Kilkeany Mystic (Ghareeb) with their Robin De La Maison and Kings Master foals were also selected by Maurice Coleman and Kieran Ryan.

Father-and-son team Hughie and Ian Murphy showed Cogan’s Dawn Star (Annaghdown Star) with a Near Dock filly at foot to win the Irish Draught championship and the Mark Scully memorial trophy. This was presented by Mark’s grandson Ethan Scully, over on a visit from Texas after graduating from the US Naval Academy.

Dermot Gordon’s father Anthony showed his Munther two-year-old filly to take the youngstock title, ahead of Tiernan Gill’s Walk In The Park (Sir Shutterfly).

Philip Scott’s late wife Deirdre advised him to buy a half-share in a Kings Master three-year-old bought last year by Gill and It’s The Kings Speech, aptly named by Deirdre, went on to win the Galway County ridden horse title. Standing reserve on Father’s Day was Philip’s daughter Philippa on board Le Polar Bear.

Joe Burke’s stallion Drumbad Fletcher Moss retained the John Brennan memorial cup as the supreme champion Connemara and another Galway County stalwart was also commemorated when Bernard Keaney won the Breda Horan junior championship with his Murvey Rocco.