JASON Higgins had a busy but rewarding couple of days at Barnadown where he and Alice Martin-Jones sold the top-priced lot at the 11th Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale on Tuesday, the four-year-old grey filly ‘Jackie’.

Bidding on the much-touted sales-topper, who was catalogued as Lot 18, opened at €10,000 and quickly reached €36,000 at which stage she was put on the market. Again, there was little delay before locally based John Ellard, acting on behalf of an English client, had the final bid at €50,000, a result which garnered a round of applause.

“We had a lot of enquiries about the filly before the sale and a few people came and sat up on her,” revealed Higgins. “John, who is from Killinick, was very keen on her.” Martin-Jones did an excellent job of showcasing the filly on the selection and video days and at the sale itself.

For their outlay, the new owners will get to officially name ‘Jackie’ who the vendors purchased at Goresbridge Horse Sales’ September Sale last year from her Co Kildare breeder Dr Noel Cawley. By the Swedish Warmblood Jack Of Diamonds, the filly is out of the traditionally bred Irish Sport Horse mare Cappercullen Cruise.

That 2004 daughter of Cruising was an erratic breeder, producing just five foals. The last two were for Cawley who sadly found her dead one morning, back in foal to Jack Of Diamonds. “The first foal I bred out of her was a 2013 colt by Clinton and I sold him too as a three-year-old at Goresbridge. I’d forgotten all about him until I got a call one day from a man in France who said he had the horse, who was named Bill Clinton (CSIYH1*), and that he had just qualified for the top seven-year-old class over there. He thinks very highly of him.

“The filly always had a great temperament and is very good-looking – as was her mother. I sold her as I have no real interest in owning an eventer. Jason did a very good job of producing her – he’s very professional – and he was very lucky that he had some determined bidders after the mare. I wish the new owners the very best of luck with her.”

From afar, Cawley was impressed with the way the sale was conducted in this very strange year, as was Higgins. “All-in-all, the way Martin (Donohoe) and his team put on the sale was fantastic and Tadgh (Ryan) and his crew did a marvellous job over the two days,” said the Co Wexford vendor. “They certainly reaped the rewards for their efforts as it was a very, very strong sale and fair play too to those who breed these horses – it all starts with them.”

Higgins was also joint-consignor of the second highest-priced filly, Kilcannon Mischief (Lot 33), along with the flashy bay’s breeder, Mary Bolger. This three-year-old daughter of the locally-based Belgian Warmblood stallion Dignified van’t Zorgvliet is out of the Harlequin du Carel mare Kilcannon Cavaquin who jumped to 1.40m herself and is a half-sister to the Kroongraaf gelding JKF Vogue (CCI3*-L).

Lot 5 Kilcannon Hotshot, consigned by Mary Bolger and Jason Higgins, a four -year-old bay Colandro gelding was sold to the UK's Max Conx for €38,000 in Barnadown \ Goresbridge Horse Sales

Kilcannon Mischief was sold for €28,000 to Alison McEwan, mother of top British event rider Tom. “Mary and I were more than happy to see her go to Tom as she will have a very good home there,” commented Higgins who, with Bolger, also sold the top-priced four-year-old gelding at the sale, Kilcannon Hotshot (Lot 5).

An ISH gelding by the Holstein stallion Colandro out of the Dutch Warmblood mare Aster, this bay was bred at the Drumhowan Stud in Castleblayney by Eamon McArdle. He is a half-brother to the Numero Uno gelding Poison (CSI2*) while his dam is a half-sister to Queen Z (1.50m). He was purchased for €38,000 by Max Cons, a client of England-based Irish international Austin O’Connor.

“Mary’s partner, Philip Murphy, purchased this fellow as a foal at Goresbridge,” reported Higgins. “We had him in Dublin last August when he was third in the potential event horse class and, until the pandemic struck, the plan was to qualify him for the four-year-old young event horse championship this year as it’s a competition that Mary likes to target.

“Between the Go For Gold and Monart, we had a good clear-out but still have some three-year-olds who, if they aren’t sold, we will produce under saddle next year. Any empty stables we’ve found ourselves with weren’t that way for long as we have plenty of horses in the production line. I’ve great people working with me at home in Alice (Martin-Jones) and Thomas (O’Leary) while I always get plenty of help at the sales from Maebh Bolger and Brian Flynn as I’m involved with them in a few horses each year.”

Michael O'Callaghan's Ramiro B gelding 'Robinia' (Lot 40) topped the three-year-old division at the 2020 Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale when bought by UK international event rider Sam Ecroyd for €47,000 \ Goresbridge Horse Sales

Three-year-old trade

There was a very strong market for three-year-olds where the two top-priced lots, both bay geldings, were out of thoroughbred mares.

For the second time in three years, the highest-priced lot in this age group was knocked down to British international event rider Sam Ecroyd whose bid of €47,000 finally secured Michael O’Callaghan’s Robinia (Lot 40).

The Ramiro B gelding is registered with Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain having been bred in England by Rose Best who O’Callaghan first got to know when interested in an older horse of hers. “I asked her at the time what youngstock she had and when she told me she had a few Ramiros I decided to go and have a look,” said Co Clare-based O’Callaghan.

“I first saw the mare Raetihi, who I liked, and then some of her youngstock and ended up buying Robinia, who was then a yearling, and his year-younger full-brother (Rodgersia) who, hopefully, will get into the Go For Gold next year. I’ve been selling there for the past five or six years and have had a good bit of luck. The two horses I sold on Tuesday were the last three-year-olds I had and while I sent some to the sales, a lot of business was done privately this year. I now just have to stock up again!”

Robinia is out of the 2001 Wizard King mare Raetihi who failed to worry the judge in eight outings over five or six furlongs from the age of three to five. However, she is a half-sister to four winners and comes from the family of the Group 3 Prix d’Arenberg winner and sire, Reasonable.

Best viewed the sale from her home in Leicestershire where she keeps a band of eight broodmares, plus the now retired Raetihi, at her Saxelbye Manor Stud which was previously her father’s dairy farm. “I very much like the way Michael produced Robinia for the sale and the way the horse loose jumped in his performance section – everything was nice and calm.

“I followed the entire sale as I was interested to see what stallions were popular with breeders and producers. This is a business for me so I’ve got to use commercial sires. The death of Ramiro B was a tremendous loss but, using frozen semen, I had one foal by him this year while, among other stallions I used were Leprince des Bois (Selle Français by Yarlands Summer Song) and Britannia’s Mail (British Sport Horse by Jaguar Mail).”

O’Callaghan had a second three-year-old forward in Lot 25, who too is out of a thoroughbred mare but by the traditionally bred Irish Sport Horse stallion Yeats. He was one of two lots knocked down at Barnadown for €26,000 to regular Go For Gold purchaser Oliver Townend.

The as yet unnamed chesnut gelding was bred in Co Tipperary by Marie O’Brien out of the unraced Prime Adage who has produced three other foals by Yeats and one by the Irish Draught stallion Luke Skywalker. This year the Marignan mare had a filly foal by the thoroughbred stallion Rule Of Law.

Involved in thoroughbreds through her young, and successful, point-to-pointers, Virginia Considine wore her sport horse hat at Barnadown where she sold Lot 45 for €37,000 to Italy’s Caterina Petroli who was bidding over the phone. The unnamed grey three-year-old Metropole gelding was bred in Co Meath by Hazel Bye out of the Cavalier Royale mare Cavalier Silver Joey.

Lot 37 MBF Gambler, Meabh Bolger and Brian Flynn's three-year-old Ramiro B gelding was brought by the USA's Kim Wendell for €42,000 at the 2020 Goresbridge Go For Go Sale

\ Goresbridge Horse Sales

Top vendors

Co Waterford-based couple Meabh Bolger and Brian Flynn, of MBF Sport Horses, have become major players in the young event horse market in recent years and, in various guises, featured among the top 20 vendors at Tuesday’s Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale at Barnadown.

Together they sold the three-year-old MBF Gambler (Lot 37) for €42,000 to American international Kim Wendel who was bidding over the phone. Based in Colorado, Wendel often events off the track thoroughbreds and while her Tuesday purchase, an Irish Sport Horse, is by the Belgian Warmblood stallion Ramiro B, the brown gelding was home-bred by Flynn out of a thoroughbred mare.

She, Monalease (by Terimon), won one point in her native Britain while her family, close up, features plenty of winners between the flags. In its further removes one can find the top-class hurdler and Grade 2 chase winner Avro Anson. Like all of the vendors’ stock at the sale, MBF Gambler had been broken and lightly backed.

Flynn and Henry Foley consigned MBF Quidams Touch (Lot 57) who will be joining the Tom McEwen yard having been knocked down to the British international’s mother Alison for €33,000.

Bidding on this three-year-old ISH gelding by Quidam Junior I opened at €12,000 and quickly hit €28,000 at which stage he was put on the market. Out of the ISH mare Pembrook Black Magic (by Touchdown), MBF Quidams Touch was bred in Co Kilkenny by Cathal Healy.

In partnership with Jason Higgins, Flynn was vendor of the athletic MBF If In Doubt (Lot 46), one of just two produce in the sale by the ISH stallion Sligo Candy Boy. Bred by Martin Kenirons out of the Manhattan mare If In Doubt, the three-year-old brown gelding was purchased for €31,000 by the USA’s Katie Painter who is based in England with Harry Meade.

Coming up as part of the MBF draft, but this time being sold by Meabh Bolger and Jason Higgins, was a Ramiro B gelding who is registered with Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain as Star Buster (Lot 26).

This bay three-year-old was purchased just four months ago by Brian Flynn from his breeder Lisa Walsh who watched the sale from her home in Cheshire. When the hammer fell at €26,000, she was delighted to learn that the gelding, who is out of an unraced thoroughbred mare by Wild Law, had been sold to Oliver Townend.

Lot 45 Virginia English's three-year-old unnaed grey Metropole gelding was sold to Italy's Caterina Petroli for €37,000 at Barnadown \ Goresbridge Horse Sales

International buyers

While he and his family have long been supporters of Goresbridge Horse Sales, Co Armagh-based amateur show jumper Jordan Campbell was a first-time vendor at Tuesday’s Go For Gold Sale at Barnadown.

He had two unnamed home-bred Irish Sport Horse four-year-olds forward by the Zangersheide stallion Pollux de Muse Z and both found new homes, although the first-up, Lot 10, did so in a private transaction with Sophie Richards for €25,000. The bay gelding is out of the 2012 Pacino mare Chino C who is a full-sister to Hilton Pacifico (CSI5*) and a half-sister to the Ars Vivendi gelding Serpico (CSI5*) plus the Ard VDL gelding Master Douglas (CCI5*-L).

Lot 24, who was purchased by England-based New Zealand international Tim Rusbridge for €15,000, is a chesnut filly out of the Ars Vivendi mare Ars C, a full-sister to MTF Cooley Classic (CCI3*-L). Her grandam, Josephines Fancy (by Olympic Lux), is a full-sister to Camblin (CSI5*) and a half-sister to the Harlequin du Carel siblings Dorada (CSI5*) and Halltown Harley (CCI5*-L).

Another first-time vendor at the sale, Co Clare’s Gordon Hogan sold his three-year-old Zirocco Blue VDL gelding Mon Ami Brillante (a Dutch Warmblood) for €31,000 to Co Wexford’s Shane Kenny while the sole horse in the sale registered with the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland, Nigel Kenny’s Derrycastle Houdini (Lot 7), a four-year-old by Ulysses MS2 out of a Lux Z mare, was purchased by GHF Equestrian for €32,000.

Go for gold