FIVE horses made €50,000 or more at Wednesday’s Go For Gold Sale in the Amber Springs Hotel. Four were consigned by regular vendors at Goresbridge Horse Sales’ flagship auction while the other was sold by Co Galway first-timer Ralph Conroy through R.C. Equine Ltd.
Carrying the prefix of Conroy’s Milchem Equestrian Centre near Tynagh, Milchem Giovanni (Lot 13) was one of the talking horses before the sale and little wonder as the four-year-old Tyson chesnut was successfully produced this season on the young event horse scene by Conroy and his stable jockey Jason Doerflinger.
Having impressed when showcased at Barnadown, the gelding’s sale was highly anticipated in the salesroom. An opening online bid of €30,000 was quickly followed in €5,000 increments to €70,000. There was then a bit of a hiatus but following three bids - at €75,000, €78,000 and €80,000 - the hammer came down in favour of an online bidder.
This turned out to be the US-based Willie White who, along with Hedgerow Farm, owns the gelding’s full-sister Sing To Me Cooley (registered here as Milchem Melody). That eight-year-old is campaigned in the States by Co Mayo native Tim Bourke who is also set to compete White’s latest purchase.
Conroy and Doerflinger didn’t have to travel to secure a first combined training victory with Milchem Giovanni nor an arena event horse class as he did both at series run at Milchem EC by the Eventing Ireland Western Region of which Conroy is chairman. He won the four-year-old Starter Series final then had a bit of a break before being prepped for the top young event horse classes.
Milchem Giovanni secured a Burghley young event horse qualifying ticket when winning at the Millstreet international horse trials at the end of May and then qualified through the Young Eventhorse Series at Scarteen for the Dublin Horse Show, finishing fifth. Conroy’s decision to travel over to Burghley proved a wise one as his gelding was fourth with the highest jumping score of 41 starters.
A ‘gem’
In partnership with Eoghan McCabe, Conroy also sold the grey Ganesh Hero Z gelding Milchem Gemstone (Lot 4) who was purchased for €26,000 by Germany-based Austrian Claudia Kaindl, a previous buyer at Goresbridge sales with husband Andreas.
This five-year-old was similarly campaigned by Doerflinger, being runner-up in the Western Region Starter Series, qualifying for Burghley when second at Millstreet and then at Rincoola for Dublin where, like his stable-companion, he finished fifth. A stone bruise prevented the gelding, who is the first produce out of the KMS Chicago mare Milchem Saphire, from travelling to England in early September. Having produced fillies by Tyson in 2022 and 2023, Milchem Saphire was sold to go hunting in England.
“Both sales horses share the same grandam (Grainnes Dream),” commented Conroy. “Her breeding isn’t recorded but her thoroughbred dam was supposed to have won six races and her sire was a son of Diamond Lad.”
Out of the Silvano mare Milchem Dreamer, Milchem Giovanni is a full-brother of the aforementioned Sing To Me Cooley (CCI2*-L) and a half-brother to the Goodluck VDL gelding Milchem Good Luck who was placed in BE100 company last season when campaigned in Britain by William Fox-Pitt. Another full-brother, the three-year-old Milchem Mirage, is being retained as a stallion and covered some mares this year.
Delighted
“I was absolutely delighted with the price for Giovanni who was a pleasure to produce all along the way. It’s also wonderful that he is going to Tim as he is a top, top horse and deserves to be ridden by a 5* rider. I have to credit Jason for the way he has campaigned both horses. He too is a very good rider and we’re lucky here to have two good Scottish riders on site, Becky Scott and Duncan McFadyen, with young Oisin McDonagh competing the ponies.
“Eoghan McCabe, who owned Milchem Gemstone with me, is a joint-Master of the East Galways. He and Jason are great friends and Jason whips in on Saturdays and Wednesdays which gives him a break from the yard. We hunt a lot of our young horses, but neither of the two horses we sold on Wednesday ever hunted. However, I’m absolutely delighted that they came through the Starter Series, proving its value as a stepping stone to eventing.”
Conroy and Doerflinger travelled over to Co Wexford on Sunday morning for the vetting at Barnadown. On Wednesday, they were joined in the Amber Springs Hotel by some family members and friends. “Eoghan came over as did Marie Dunne (secretary of the EI Western Region) and her son, the international rider Godfrey Gibbons who is now working for Richard Ames at Belline. We had a brilliant evening which, with the music and dancing, went long into the night.”
Conroy wasn’t the only vendor from Co Galway to have a good sale as Damien Griffin’s Lissyegan Stables (DGLS) sold River Cottage Hero (Lot 2) to the USA’s Ruthie Meyer, who was bidding online, for €37,000. The five-year-old Ganesh Hero Z gelding had been put on the market a bid earlier.
As he and his wife Fiona are awaiting the imminent birth of twins, Damien didn’t even attend the sale leaving it all up to Beth Burton (now based at Fernhill), who has produced the horse since February.
“She got him going locally and then began registered jumping with him during the summer; he has competed at 1.20m level,” revealed Griffin. “He was also third in the five-year-old DAFM eventing development class at Lisgarvan in September.”
As his name would suggest, River Cottage Hero was bred in Co Meath by Tommy Curran who has had horses with Griffin for 10 years or so including Hero’s 2011 Chekhov PZK half-brother River Cottage Lad who is now jumping in Canada. The pair are out of the Colin Diamond mare Castle Touch, a half-sister to the OBOS Quality 004 gelding Castleblayney (1.40m), who, in turn, was out of a half-sister to Calibra (1.60m).
“I bought the horse from Tommy as a three-year-old,” said Griffin, who could have up to 45 show jumpers in his yard at any one time. “He has two Vancouver four-year-olds with me at present to produce as jumpers. While this was my first time to sell at the Go For Gold, I did sell one of last year’s top lots, Monbeg Dunard Blue, to Marti Rudd and we are regulars at Goresbridge itself, buying foals and selling older horses.”
Co Wexford-based Commdt Terence White, who acts as Meyer’s agent in Ireland, tried 11 horses at Barnadown for his US client.
Also from Co Wexford, Ann Cash and Alyson Keane received €42,000 from British event horse owners, Preci Spark Ltd for SHL Fernando (Lot 9), a four-year-old brown gelding by Cormint out of SHL Ferro CICI (by S Creevagh Ferro). The vendors are well-known for quietly producing successful young event horses such as this year’s Le Lion d’Angers CCI3* winner Brookfield Danny de Muze.