Slatequarry Sasha brought off a unique Dublin double when Paula Howard’s mare followed up her winning appearance in the previous day’s The Irish Field Breeders Championship by winning the Coote Cup broodmare championship.

In fact, her win in a superb lightweight broodmare class was part of the unique sight of three Ghareeb mares in the top-three, as Slatequarry Sasha lined up alongside Patrick Wafer’s Parkmore Evita (second) and Stephen Culliney’s Kilkeany Mystic (third).

After his rampage through the young horse classes the previous two days, John Roche’s next aim was the Coote Cup, won six times by his father’s Assagart Kit.

The Foulksmills farmer was double-handed in his bid after his and sister Michelle’s Assagart Saviour won the heavyweight class for an impressive fourth time and Assagart Mistress (Kings Master) took the red rosette in the stinted mare class.

While Paula Howard’s ‘celebrations’ the previous night consisted of taking the number 67 bus home to Celbridge and washing shirts for Davy Lyons and his daughter Caroline, who showed Slatequarry Sasha and her colt foal Timpany Casanova, she had further cause for delight when the Ghareeb mare was brought forward as Pat Stirling and Noel Chance’s champion.

The former Limerick Lady champion Assagart Mistress maintained a clean sweep for traditional-breds when she stood reserve.

GOOD WEEK

John and Julia Crosbie had a good week with their Mr Kingsley (Kings Master) standing reserve heavyweight champion to the eventual supreme Fort Knocks and while there was no repeat of Hankalaine’s 2015 Coote Cup win, her Hermes De Reve filly foal won her class. Patrick Wafer’s Elusive Emir and Ronnie McCombe’s Financial Reward fillies were second and third.

Kieran O’Gorman won the colt foal with a Munther full-brother to his recent All Ireland yearling champion; Richard Drohan took second and also sold his Island Commander colt and Liz Murphy’s Cappulcorragh Quality Control (OBOS Quality) took third.

Thomas Jones’s Spirit House colt pipped both O’Gorman’s Munther’s Rebel and Drohan’s colt in the thoroughbred-sired foal class. Jones’ colt was shown for him by Val Hyde who longtime Irish Farmers Journal readers will remember showing his good mare Battle Quis, later sold to Ecuador, in the early years of the Breeders Championship.

“We sang off the same hymnsheet when it came to quality,” said Scottish lady Pat Stirling, who judged Saturday morning’s classes with dual Gold Cup winning trainer Noel Chance.

“I didn’t know the three mares [in the lightweight class] were by Ghareeb but they were all the same type.”

She also praised Roche’s reserve mare as being a hard-to-find true middleweight.