THE majority of the horses catalogued, offered and sold at Monday’s Goresbridge Horse Sales’ select sale of three-year-old show jumpers were geldings but it was the sole colt to come under the hammer, Serran De Bun (Lot 4), who made the evening’s top price while a filly, Deise Eclipse (Lot 2), came next in the pecking order.

Auctioneer, and Goresbridge supremo, Ed Donohoe asked €40,000 for the KWPN-registered Serran De Bun (by VDL Douglas) but had to drop down to €10,000 before an opening offer was made. From there, the bidding took off, mainly in increments of €2,000, swiftly reaching €38,000, at which stage, the bay youngster was put on the market.

Potential purchasers became a little more cautious when the €42,000-mark was reached but, rising €1,000 at a time, the bidding hit €46,000 at which stage, the hammer came down, with Donohoe congratulating the ‘lads’. The chit was signed by Co Kerry’s Michael Daly who, working with Conor McMahon, purchased the sales-topper on behalf of the USA’s Ally Sinclair who was based at Daly’s Ivy Coast Farm in Tralee for the summer and was also ringside.

Serran De Bun is out of the Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve mare Dittarike who jumped to 1.30m level and competed in dressage. The dam is a full-sister to Cent Carrats (1.45m) and a half-sister to the 1.35m performers Va Banque (by No Limit) and Janiekarov (by Zacharov TN). Along with a trio of three-year-olds, he was imported from The Netherlands last September by Co Clare’s Tommy Considine.

“As you know, I do business with Alan Morgan and he bought a half-share in the colt from me last November and kept him over the winter,” said Considine, who was out autumn hunting during the week and is counting down the days to the season proper. “We got him back here (Creevagh Stables) in April/May time and soon had him broken and riding.

“We always knew he had a great temperament, which was one reason we didn’t castrate him, but, once I got him riding, I knew he was a good one - just totally different gravy! He was just magic; riding three weeks and doing flying changes automatically. He’s beautifully balanced and has a super mind.

“He went back to Alan for a summer break and it was Alan who got the horse going for the selection day, after which we got him back here again to prep for the sale. Did you see that video we put up online of Lauren Quinn schooling him? How good did he look? I agree that was a big price they paid for him but I think that, down the road, he’ll look like a cheap horse.”

Daly and McMahon had seen the sales topper earlier in the year, at the Future Stars three-year-old loose jumping in Garranemore Equestrian, and had noted him as a prospect for the American market.

“He has a lovely temperament and is beautifully balanced,” said Daly of the sales topper. “Ally has returned home to the States, where she will be competing at the Winter Festival in Wellington, Florida over the winter. The plan is for her to came back here next summer and, hopefully, compete this fellow at Dublin.”

As he was bred abroad, Serran De Bun will first have to be registered and approved or preliminary approved and selected for breeding in an Irish studbook and then, of course, he has qualify for the RDS.

Lot 2, Deise Eclipse by Untouchable 27 was sold for €41,000 at the Goresbridge select sale of three-year-olds

Top-priced filly

The top-priced filly, Deise Eclipse (Lot 2), was consigned to the sale by Jason Higgins and Aoife Dooley who had videos online of the Irish Sport Horse-registered grey not only jumping poles but also tyres and onto and off a bank.

Having suggested a price of €30,000, Donohoe once more had to wait until someone stuck their hand up at €10,000 before the bidding started and then it slowly climbed by a grand at a time until stopping briefly at €26,000 - and again at €28,000 when the filly was put on the market. Eventually, the slow battle between bidders stopped at €41,000 with Britain’s Mollie Hay being revealed as the successful purchaser.

Bred in Co Waterford by Aidan and Emma de Brun of Déise Sporthorses, the athletic daughter of Untouchable 27 is out of the Capri van Overis Z mare Deise Novella who comes the family of Investment (1.55m) and Gentlemen (1.45m).

Martin Donohoe was wielding the hammer when, following another lengthy bidding process, Eamon Walsh’s Galwaybay Emerson (Lot 8) became the top-priced gelding at €40,000.

As his name would suggest, the ISH bay by Emerald van’t Ruytershof was bred in Co Galway by Justin Burke. Out of the Heartbreaker mare Winebreaker S, he is a half-brother to the Diamant de Semilly gelding Galwaybay Dynamite (1.40m), to the Verdi mare Evita S (1.45m), to the Cartano mare Chablis S (1.40m) and to the Clinton mare Galwaybay Penelope (1.50m), the dam of Galwaybay Sparkie (1.45).

Galwaybay Emerson was the most expensive purchase to date by 18-year-old show jumper Kian Dore who doesn’t expect a return on his investment any time soon. “I liked his model, movement and jump but he’s a big horse who will need time to develop so don’t expect to see him out ‘til he’s five or even six.”

Sean Monaghan arrived back in Ireland from his exploits in the Longines League of Nations Final to have the successful €26,000 bid for Brendan Doyle’s Donodoni HV d’Or Z (Lot 17). By Diamant de Semilly, the bay is a half-brother to the El Barone III Z gelding Private Entrepreneur d’Or who recently jumped in the five-year-old final at Lanaken. The pair are out of La Vie d’Or (by High Shutterfly), a half-sister to Inventa d’Or (1.45m) who, in turn, was out of a full-sister to Farno d’Or (1.55m).

After his hectic week, Monaghan no doubt enjoyed the hospitality of a pig-on-a-spit and drinks put on by Goresbridge to thank their many clients, especially those like Switzerland’s Henry Schoneberger, who flew in for the day so he could look at 20 select horses in a day in one place.

Lot 8, Eamon Walsh's Galwaybay Emerson by Emerald, was sold for €40,000 at the Goresbridge select sale of three-year-olds