More problems for Splaine

NO surprise that Ireland show jumping manager Robert Splaine regrets the loss of K Club Lady and Temple Road, who have both been sold to Ukranian gas magnate Alexander Onishchenko.

Understandable too that he appreciates why Cian O’Connor chose to sell.

For all that, though, it makes life that little bit more difficult for Splaine as he builds towards September’s European Championships in Madrid and the goal of qualifying for the London Olympics.

Even if K Club Lady was returning from injury, she had pedigree, for example her double clear in Aachen last year, and Splaine acknowledged the importance of her loss.

“The sale of both horses are a blow to my cause. K Club Lady has been a fantastic servant and her loss will be felt, should she return to the form we had seen. Temple Road on his couple of outings in Lummen and Rome was good. He was one for the future. Cup horses are rare and a loss to the team, but business is business. We are a nation of producers and sellers and some emerging countries have bigger budgets, so it is understandable that a rider would accept a big offer when it comes along.”

Splaine was speaking yesterday ahead of today’s FEI Nations Cup contest in Falsterbo, Sweden, with Ireland lying second in the league on 19 points, 4.5pts behind the Dutch, who are aiming for a hat-trick of wins. Ireland cannot relax, though, with Belgium and Britain breathing down our necks on 18pts and 16pts, respectively.

The Corkman would have been pleased with yesterday’s feature class. Denis Lynch demonstrated an affinity with his latest acquisition Lord Luis to produce a clear, while Cian O’Connor did likewise on his borrowed former mount Splendor, which he sold last year to Egyptian Ahmed Tolba. Shane Breen put up four faults with the nine-year-old Luidam mare Luikka, but lines out today with the bay gelding Cos I Can, who earlier jumped a clear in a 1.45m class. Nicola FitzGibbon found the going tough with Puissance, putting up 12 faults, but got the nod over Niall Talbot, who jumped clear on Nicos De La Cense,

Splaine was, as usual, reticent to make a prediction.

“It will be difficult to say how it will work out with the horses we have here. Denis has a new horse, Lord Luis, though he may have competed at this level with another rider, but all the horses would be unexposed at this level and hopefully we will be able to hold our own.”

Meanwhile, showing you can’t keep a good thing down, O’Connor placed second yesterday in the derby qualifier riding his new Dutch-bred mount, the 10-year-old gelding Phin Phin’s Shooting Star.

- PETER SMYTH comes to Cork Summer Show this weekend on a bit of a roll. The Strabane native placed second in Blessington GP last Sunday with The Windmill Master, which followed his third place on Corrib House the preceding day in Omagh, Co Tyrone.

It was enough to propel him to the top of the TRM/SJI Premier Series on 27 points, three more than Eddie Moloney, who had placed second in Omagh behind Paddy O’Donnell.

Smyth looked to be on course for his first victory of the series in Blessington, but had to take a back seat to Ger O’Neill, riding Cassidee, a performance that saw him rise to third place on the leaderboard.

Cork Show is the sixth leg of the series and should be keenly contested, as riders battle for three Dublin Horse Show places available after Tattersalls.