A TOTAL of 53 horses have been entered the final of the Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Series, worth €120,000, to be held at Naas on October 15th.

The seven-furlong contest is the culmination of a 21-race series which has received €573,000 in prize money. The latest race in the Series was won by Gavin Cromwell’s Lady Camelot yesterday at Listowel.

To qualify for the Final, horses had to be bought as yearlings or two-year-olds for no more than €72,000 at public auction and then run in any one of the 20 Foran Equine Auction Maidens during the season, each worth at least €20,000. Each maiden also has the benefit of being Plus 10 registered whereby winners of each race will be eligible for a bonus of €12,500 as part of the Plus 10 scheme.

Horses within the entries for the Final may not have run in the qualifying races but still have time to with three more races in the series before the Final.

The remaining races include are a six-furlong winners of one contest at Naas next Sunday, a seven-furlong maiden at Dundalk on Friday the 29th of September and a six and a half furlong maiden at Limerick on Saturday October 7th.

Approximately 120 horses were eligible to run in the Final and the first stage of entries has seen some notable entries from both sides of the Irish Sea.

One set of connections who have taken full advantage of the Series are the Persian Red Syndicate, who bought Red Persian for just €5,000 as a yearling at the Goffs Sportsmans Sale last September. The son of Haatef has raced in three races in the Series, finishing second in two and winning one at Leopardstown amassing just short of €40,000.

Patrick Prendergast trains Red Persian and has had the Final at Naas in mind since the beginning of the season. The Curragh-based trainer said: “Red Persian’s owners are new to ownership, for them to win a two-year-old maiden in Ireland was an incredible experience.

“His win at Leopardstown brought a return of over €30,000 (prize-money and Plus 10 Bonus) from a €5,000 yearling purchase. The plan is to run Red Persian in the final and the owners, are already working on bringing in more people into the partnership, to buy two or three yearlings this year with the 2018 Foran Equine Irish EBF Series as their target.”

Ger Lyons has entered four horses in the Final, including recent impressive Bellewstown winner Poetic Light, and the Meath trainer is hoping to be mob-handed at Naas.

He said: “The €120,000 final of the Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Series is a great pot to aim for in October for any horse, but you must have a quality one to win on the day. My plan is to target the final with three or four serious horses who I believe have the potential to win the big prize.

“This series is a great bonus for owners that must be supported into the future by reinvesting at the yearling sales in preparation for next year.”

Gareth Connolly, sales and marketing director, at Foran Equine said: “The series has been a great success, each of the races have been strongly supported and with four races left before the final, 57 individual trainers have already run at least one horse in one leg of the series. It is hugely important to us that this series creates opportunities for the industry as a whole and gives owners and trainers a valuable target when buying and training their horse. This series has also allowed us to support our customers and we’re looking forward to a great final in Naas on the 15th of October and an even bigger series in 2018.”