PEDIGREE, performance and potential are the selection criteria for Goresbridge Horse Sales’ flagship auction of select event horses, the Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale, the 2025 renewal of which will be held the week after next in Co Wexford.

In recent weeks, four sale graduates, all Irish Sport Horse geldings, have performed with distinction on the international eventing stage and photographs of the quartet in cross-country action grace the covers of this year’s Go For Gold catalogue.

Dourough Ferro Class Act (2018 sale), who finished 15th in the European championships at Blenheim Castle in mid-September under Ireland’s Sarah Ennis, really catches the eye on the front cover which he shares with Cooley Nutcracker (2019) who, only last weekend, when partnered by the USA’s Boyd Martin, placed third in the CCI5*-L at Pau.

Among the many photographs on the back cover is one of Katchafire (2019) who, ridden by New Zealand’s Ginny Thomasen, landed the CCI3*-L at Osberton early this month. Also featured is the 2023 sale-topper Monbeg Condor who recently displayed his exciting potential in the hands of Britain’s Max Warburton when fourth in the CCI2*-L for six-year-olds at Le Lion d’Angers.

Copies of the catalogue were respectively brought out to that French venue and to the concurrent CCI5*-L at Fair Hill, Maryland by Sally Parkyn and Nicky Roncoroni who, once again, were selectors for the sale, along with Chris Ryan and Nick Gauntlett. The quartet spent many hours at selection days and discussion evenings before coming down in favour of cataloguing 88 lots, 21 of whom are four and five-year-olds while the rest are three-year-olds. There was one withdrawal from the latter group.

The vast majority of the animals listed are registered as Irish Sport Horses (two being traditionally-bred) while there are seven KWPN lots, one Holstein and one Selle Francais. Nine fillies are due to come under the hammer including a trio of duns by Tullabeg Fusion. Fifty-nine individual sires represent a mixture of studbooks - mainly KWPN (15), BWP (10), ISH (10) and Holst (10). Among the remainder on the sires’ index are two thoroughbreds and two Connemaras.

Goresbridge’s Ed Donohoe was delighted that the clearance rate climbed to 86% last November from 62% the previous year but will hoping to see that figure rise even further this time around. Between now and the sale, and over the three days of showcasing and then selling, keep an eye on the Kilkenny firm’s social media pages where Siobhan Donohoe will feature pre-sale vendor interviews also all that is happening around Barnadown.

Read the entire Go For Gold preview here.

Goresbridge Horse Sales

Goresbridge Go For Gold

Address: Barnadown and the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey, Co Wexford

Telephone: 059-9775145

Email: info@goresbridge.com

Date: Monday to Wednesday, November 10th to 12th

Time: At 10.30 on Monday, Lots 1 to 21 (four-year-olds and upwards) will be shown on the flat and over show jumps in numerical order. At 2pm, Lots 1 to 21 will be shown cross-country in numerical order. Both performances will be live streamed.

At 9.30am on Tuesday, Lots 22 to 88 (three-year-olds) will be loose jumped in numerical order. Performance will be live streamed.

At 2pm on Wednesday, Connolly’s Red Mills welcome reception at the Amber Springs Hotel.

At 3pm on Wednesday, auction and gala dinner at the Amber Springs Hotel (Table and reservations must be booked directory with the hotel).

The auction will be live streamed with online and floor bidding; pre-registration is required. 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 and there is a full set of digital x-rays online for each horse. Performance footage of all lots can be viewed on www.goresbridgeonlineauctions.com while many vendors have more footage available on their own social media pages.

Last year’s top lot: Trade Horse Ltd’s unnamed four-year-old gelding by Crusing With Diamonds (dam by Insatiable) €57,000.