O’Connor sweeps the boards at Millstreet
Victory in the afternoon’s feature class came with Ballymore Eustace in a coming-of-age performance, as the Meath-based rider has been slowly developing the grey gelding, in contrast to his runner-up ride Carpe Diem, an 11-year-old gelding O’Connor only acquired a fortnight ago.
Of the winner, O’Connor said: “He was spotted in Finland last year by Paddy Quinlan and was second last year in the final for seven and eight-year-old horses at Dublin Horse Show. He was very good, but he was a little bit backward. That’s why today’s win means so much, but especially for the owners Jackie Bolger and Mel Sutcliffe. They’ve been very patient and so it’s great for them to finally get their reward. He has the potential to jump the bigger tracks, but he will need a bit of time.”
O’Connor has in the recent past sold his best horses, but he knows he has something special in Carpe Diem, who was previously competed by Danish rider Torben Frandsen. Earlier in the week, he described him as being somewhere between two of his great horses, Waterford Crystal and Rancorrado and yesterday’s performance gave credence to that assessment.
“I’m really excited about him. I’ve been building to the grand prix all week and Millstreet is the perfect place to do that, but it’s nice when the plan works out. In fact, he has not dropped a single poll all week, not even in the practice arena. This is a super place to develop a horse,” said O’Connor, who last won the grand prix in 2008 and again recalled that his first international win came at Millstreet in 1999.
The competition saw an original field of 31 riders whittled down to five over a track reflective of the status of this competition. It was boiling down to a head-to-head between O’Connor and that other expert Francis Connors, with each boasting two horses, while Vincent Howley was looking to spoil the party.
O’Connor was first to tackle the shortened course, producing a display with Carpe Diem that was a pleasure to watch and, while measured, it applied the required pressure on his rivals with a clear in 49.24 seconds.
Francis Connors’s first throw of the dice came with Dansson, but the nine-year-old chestnut gelding faulted midway for four faults and the Waterford rider took his foot off the pedal, adding a single time fault.
Howley and the nine-year-old gelding Touch of Aldatus also experienced difficulty with the track of Scotsman Mark McGowan, which at places reached 1.60m, ending on nine faults.
O’Connor’s position was looking good, but he went on to enhance this with an equally polished performance on Ballymore Eustace, knocking four-hundredths off his target when crossing the line in 49.20secs.
Francis Connors and Heracross had won the Boomerang contest in the same arena a number of years ago, so there was always a chance he could repeat the feat, but this hope proved forlorn when the 11-year-old bay gelding also faulted midway and, likewise, picked up a single time fault.
O’Connor win in the Boomerang final for six and seven-year-old horses came with Everything, owned by Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi of Dubai.
Saturday’s Millstreet Derby saw Mervyn Clarke Jnr and Money Train produce the only clear round, with Francis Connors and Cirracruise Westwinds providing the better of just two four-fault rounds, the other coming from Gabriel Slattery and Ballintougher Bud.
Meanwhile, Denis Lynch and Lantinus raised hopes ahead of next month’s European Show Jumping Championships with a classy performance that saw them place second in the Global Champions Tour at Valkenswaard, the Netherlands, on Saturday. Heavy rain did little to dampen Lynch, who was one of only four riders to make it to the third round from a starting field of 49. Lynch, who pocketed €60,000 for his second place, went on to win yesterday’s medium tour jump-off with Night Train.
At yesterday’s National Young Horse Championships in Coilog, Co Kildare, Ger O’Neill and Z Wellie 72 won the final for six/seven-year-olds, John Floody won the final for five-year-olds with Bronson De Reve. Marion Hughes took the top spot in TRM Grand Prix on Heritage Cashmere.
