THE recent return of the Irish Sport Horse Studbook to the top of the eventing world rankings has come at a most opportune time for the upcoming Goresbridge Go For Gold sale (November 9th to 11th).
Helping the Studbook achieve its position were two graduates of the select event horse sale, Cooley Nutcracker (2019) and Tullabeg Platinum (2020) who, not too surprisingly, grace the front cover of this year’s catalogue.
Cooley Nutcracker, a 12-year-old gelding by Tolan R now ridden by Boyd Martin, finished 11th in the CCI5*-L at Kentucky before helping the USA win team bronze at the World Championship in Aachen. Partnered by Julia Krajewski, the similarly-aged Dignified van’t Zorgvliet gelding Tullabeg Platinum, finished runner-up in CCI4*-S events at Strzegom and Luhmühlen and, between times, was on the German squad who won team gold at the FEI Nations’ Cup in Marbach.
This year’s catalogue features 88 lots selected by Sally Parkyn, Chris Ryan, Nicky Roncoroni and Nick Gauntlett. The vast majority of the lots, chosen from hundreds who were brought to selection days, are registered as Irish Sport Horses but three are registered with the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland. There are also seven lots registered with the KWPN and seven lots with other European Studbooks.
There are 18 fillies/mares catalogued, including four of the seven five-year-olds in the sale, and 20 lots are being consigned by their breeders, again including four of the five-year-olds on offer.
One of the three home-bred four-year-olds in the sale is the Jacadello gelding Cello Diro (Lot 24), whose Ramiro B-sired dam Diro has previously produced the Dignified van’t Zorgvliet mare SRS Dignity (1.40m). With 27 Show Jumping Ireland points to his credit, the grey is being consigned by Maurice Cousins at whose Barnadown facility the horses are being stabled and will be showcased.
Should you wish to view any of the horses before the sale, you should contact Goresbridge’s Ed Donohoe who, along with his wife Siobhan, the selectors and the office team, will be present throughout the three days at Barnadown and when the auction takes place in the Amber Springs Hotel.
Sale info
Goresbridge Horse Sales
Go For Gold sale
Address: Barnadown and the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey, Co Wexford
Telephone: 059-9775145
Email: info@goresbridge.com
Website: www.goresbridgegoforgold.com
Date: Monday to Wednesday, November 9th to 11th
Times: At 10.30am on Monday, Lots 1 to 30 (five-year-olds and four-year-olds) will be shown on the flat and over show jumps in numerical order. At 2pm, Lots 1 to 30 will be shown cross-country in numerical order. Both performances will be live streamed.
Times: At 9.30am on Tuesday, Lots 32 to 60 (three-year-olds) will be loose jumped in numerical order. Following a 30-minute interval, Lots 61 to 91 (three-year-olds) will be loose jumped in numerical order. Both sessions will be live streamed.
Times: At 2pm on Wednesday, Connolly’s Red Mills welcome reception at the Amber Springs Hotel. At 3pm, auction and gala dinner at the Amber Springs Hotel (table and reservations must be booked directly with the hotel). There will be a 30-minute interval after the older horses have been sold to serve dinner. The auction will then resume with Lot 32 through to Lot 91.
The auction will be live streamed with online and floor bidding; pre-registration is required along with photo ID and proof of address. Details of payment methods plus the terms and conditions of sale can be found in the catalogue.
All lots forward are sold with pre-sale veterinary certificates from members of the Goresbridge veterinary panel. All lots will be sold with a set of digital x-rays, taken by members of the Goresbridge x-ray panel, and these will be available for purchasers to inspect prior to the sale.
Performance footage of all lots can be viewed on www.goresbridge.com, while vendors may have more footage available on their own social media pages.
Last year’s top lot: Tomás Doyle’s Monbeg Monaco, a four-year-old grey gelding by Malcomme P (dam by Emir R) €90,000.