Tulcon Hero (ID) crowned Creightons supreme champion hunter at Balmoral
There was a definite Gortfree Hero theme throughout the Balmoral supreme hunter judging on Thursday. Watching ringside was Canadian visitor Christine Sweet who has recently organised for Sean Barker’s triple Dublin champion to be made available, through A.I, to Canadian and U.S customers.
Tulcon Hero (ID), the overall Creightons supreme champion hunter at Balmoral, is by Gortfree Hero (ID) and the main target this for the Grace Maxwell Murphy-owned winner is the Dublin Horse Show later this year.
There in the main arena, in 2016, Fort Knocks was the Dublin supreme champion hunter. His sire, Gortfree Hero. That Dublin heavyweight and supreme hunter champion was produced by Brian Murphy and nine years later, he was aboard yesterday’s Balmoral reserve supreme champion: Carravilla Enough Said.
Heavyweight hunter classes over the past decade have been another market for quality Irish Draughts and Tulcon Hero is the latest multi-tasking champion.
The four-year-old was bred in Co. Leitrim by Paddy Kilrane although Grace Maxwell Murphy sourced him in the midlands.
“I bought him off John Igoe in Athlone,” Grace outlined. “We’d bought some two-year-olds and when we went to collect them, I said ‘have you anything else?’ And he said he had some yearlings, saw him and we bought him.
“This is only his third outing, he’s done a couple of days hunting, went to his first show in Ballycahane, then last Sunday in Tralee [Kingdom County Fair] and now here!”
Produced by her husband William McMahon, the couple already have one Dublin supreme champion hunter to their credit: the 2022 winner Gleann Rua Da Vinci Code.
On his dam’s side, Tulcon Hero is out of the Gurraun Zidane mare Tulcon Dawn, herself bred by Mairtin Clancy. That makes two Dublin Irish Draught stallion champions on both sides of Tulcon Hero’s pedigree as the late Chantal Deon, a noted Draught enthusiast, owned this 2006 Dublin champion.
Tulcon Dawn’s dam Corraslira Mist is by the Merry Gold son Merry Mate.
So a strong Irish Draught pedigree in our Balmoral hunter champion who won the heavyweight titles en-route to the overall supreme title, secured by his blistering gallop.
Standing overall reserve supreme was the dual lightweight and four-year-old champion: Regina Daly’s Carravilla Enough Said. Bred in Co. Mayo by Anthony Sheridan, who also bred the Balmoral reserve champion’s sire Chillout, the dark bay is out of the Clover Brigade-Entrechat mare Jimmys Wish.
“We showed him a little in-hand but we let him off to mature,” said Regina, from Skibbereen. “’Chilli’ is the easiest, most laid-back character, everybody loves him. The RDS is our aim this year. Aimee [Brian’s partner] gave my children lessons when they were showing ponies in England and I always said that if she moved here, I’d send her a horse. I did but Brian likes him too much!”
The countdown is now on to the Dublin rematch between the Galway and West Cork.
BREEDING
Tulcon Hero (ID) – 2021 gelding by Gortfree Hero (ID) out of Tulcon Dawn (ID) by Gurraun Zidane. Breeder: Paddy Kilrane, Co. Leitrim. Owner: Grace Maxwell Murphy.