LAST week’s final renewal at Goresbridge was a workmanlike affair which wrapped up a busy month and a largely positive year. As it has all season, the Co Kilkenny venue attracted a good quota of overseas customers, who contributed to a healthy enough clearance of 65% (62% in 2016), together with a sale-topping figure of €7,800.

While this closing sale seldom delivers any exceptional returns, it produced an improved set of figures and prompted auctioneer Martin Donohoe to comment: “This sale completes a positive year’s trade and one that, despite fears of Brexit and the weakened sterling, has produced some great results. We appreciate the vendors coming on board - we value their support and we can look forward to marketing next year’s fixtures and watching the industry progress further.”

There was a lively market for the better-produced older stock, but trade was at its strongest in the younger sectors. Pinhookers were out in force for the concluding group of three-year-olds and, while the trade was unsurprisingly selective, several realised good returns. Among them, and standing out to head the entire sale, was Mary McInerney’s impressive Max The Banner Boy Big Tom (Lot 152) a gelding by the Holstein sire Quality Time out of the KWPN registered Burren by Lux Z. The sale-topper is the sole registered three-year-old in the country by the sire, but as McInerney explained, “I spotted him competing at the RDS a few years ago, and knew that I had to use him.” This resulting gelding is the second foal out of the dam, who is a full sister to the 1.40m performer Caspian, as well as Doctor Proctor (1.30m).

Once on the market at €7,000, bids bounced between a telephone bidder and the successful buyer Andrew Williams. “He was just the most beautiful model,” the Monmouthshire man enthused. “He jumped, he moved and he looked extremely scopey. I didn’t really intend to buy a three-year-old, but he’s a lovely, lovely horse and I couldn’t leave him behind.” As usual, Williams was acting for rider and producer Vicky Tuffs, who, as a notable producer and seller, will aim this smart prospect at the British young event horse classes next year.

Earlier in the day, Peader Murphy’s seven-year-old Cloughabrody Punch (Lot 29) stood out among a very mixed selection of older stock when selling for the day’s next best price of €5,800. A son of Murphy’s former resident stallion Capitalist and in the same ownership for the past two years, the gelding is the sole registered progeny out of Cloughabrody Joy, who is by the Irish Draught stallion Brehan Gold. He had been lightly campaigned by the vendor’s son Cillian and was secured by German buyer Rheinhold Diestel. It was a first visit to the venue by the Frankfurt show jumping dealer who, busy throughout, finally signed for seven lots. Another active customer from mainland Europe was Austrian event rider Claudia Kaindell. A regular at the Go For Gold sale and indeed a purchaser earlier in the month, Kaindell was especially pleased to secure Darren Ryan’s 1.20m show jumper Land Cruiser, by Cavalier Land (Cruising), for €4,800. The attractively-bred gelding carried a very clean SJI record in classes up to 1.20m level, together with a tally of 26 SJI points.

Other notable returns fell to two traditionally-bred six-year-old geldings. First up was Jane Roche’s seasoned hunter (Lot 101) by Marishes Mighty Quinn out of Merry Magic by Merry Mate. The gelding had been sourced from the same venue as a three-year-old and, in the interim, had followed the Killinick hounds for two seasons. Cheshire-based Rodger Rimmer accounted for this useful sort at €4,600, while much earlier in the day, the Irish-based Kilcoolen Equestrian Ltd paid €4,500 Yvonne Coe’s Abbey Steel (Lot 34) , a home-bred full Irish Draught gelding by Rosheen Yeats (dam by Silver Granite).

FOUR-YEAR-OLDS

Unusually, the numerically small four-year-old sector delivered the most buoyant market of the day. Although the stock on the ground varied in quality, they produced a clearance of 85% together with a top price of €5,000. John McDonnell’s smart home-bred by Castlecomer Q (dam by Colin Diamond) looked every inch a sale-topper, and although initially led out unsold was soon snapped up by Leicestershire’s Fiona Davidson. One of the most versatile of riders on the circuit, Davidson not only events to a good level, but is an intrepid follower of hounds both side saddle and astride. “I’m so excited by him,” she said afterwards. “I loved his attitude, and hope to take him eventing.”

A further six lots realised in excess of €3,000.

Among this group was Noel Perry’s Ballynolin Ludo (Lot 132), a gelding by Hoeks Ludo W (dam by Welcome Diamond). Jim Derwin parted with €4,200 for this one, while Rodger Rimmer’s accounted for Gabriel Slattery’s full Irish Draught gelding (Lot 123) by Echo King for €3,900 and former Royal jockey Bill Smith paid €3,800 for an attractive sort (Lot 120) by Cruising Harry.

THREE-YEAR-OLDS

There were unlikely to be any three-year-old bargains on Friday evening, as a powerful collection of pinhookers remained on site to view the final three-year-old session of 2016. They were also very selective however, with the result that just 53% changed hands. Leaving the sale-topper aside, Vincent Meaney’s gelding Cloyne Gold (157) by the thoroughbred Golden Lariat (not recorded) looked well bought by top show rider Lorraine Homer’s for €5,100. Homer bought a total of three potential show horses before Seamus Drea’s penultimate lot, Kilnamac Handsome by Aughabeg Patch (dam by Master Imp), was knocked down to Ray Everett for €4,700.

PONIES

A small selection of ponies produced a worthy €4,000 sale-topper in Tara Rocca’s four-year-old gelding by the show jumping sire Moores Clover. The 148cms event type gelding was clearly the pick of the bunch and was secured by Co Waterford’s John Larkin on behalf of Grainne O’Brien for her daughter Aoife.