FOALS
THERE seemed little preference for either sex in the foal sales, which once again produced some spectacular returns. Dominated by continental (and often imported) bloodlines, the specialist foal sales at Cavan, the Goresbridge Select and Millstreet delivered some extraordinary clearances and equally strong returns.
Heading an outstanding year at a heady €22,000 was a colt foal by the Belgian warmblood stallion Elvis Ter Putt. Sold at the Goresbridge Select sale, which was held in conjunction with the Irish Breeders Classic at Barnadown, Greg Broderick’s colt was out of the good mare Ballypatrick Flight (Laughtons Flight). Bred in the purple, the dam counts Broderick’s RDS Aga Khan hero Going Global as a half-sister, as well as the international event horse MHS King Joules. Once on the market at €20,000, he was quickly secured by agent Ronnie Kelly on behalf of Tipperary international show jumper Shane Breen.
Just a few weeks later, Cavan’s Elite Foal sale was the venue for another good dispersal, in which Paul Flanagan’s colt, by the world’s number one show jumping sire Kannan was knocked down to Michael Hayden at €18,000. Well related, this colt is out of Annyalla Three Seas (Cavalier Royale) and from the maternal family of the European championship team gold medallist Dreamin.
The ever popular Flexible largely saved the day for the ISH-sired foals, siring three individuals in his respective top 10. Heading the trio at €9,000 and €6,200 were the Patrick Connolly-consigned duo CSF Rock DJ (dam by Cavalier Royale) and CSF Rhianna (dam by Darco).
At €8,300 Matthew McBreen’s Crosskeys Pleasure, a filly foal by For Pleasure out of the well related mare Crosskeys Trumps (Lord Z) topped the non-select foals at Cavan in November, while also selling well, Eamon McArdle’s colt foal (by Blue Bayou) out of the imported Dutch-bred mare Voklund D was knocked down to Tiernan Gill for €7,200.
Thoroughbred sired foals still have plenty of ground to make up and disappointingly prices were marginally down on 2014. Cavan’s November fixture again figured in the results as a colt by the unraced All Guns (by Darshaan) emerged to top the annual returns at €2,500. Other sires making an impact at sales throughout the country were Emperor Augustus, Nazar, Pointilliste and Watermill Swatch.
Although not strictly fitting into any category, the sale of an embryo was another talking point at the Goresbridge Supreme Sale of Show Jumpers. The already historic evening closed when the Ashford Farms-consigned embryo by Cornet Oblensky out of the Lanaken silver medallist Ard Ginger Pop was knocked down for €50,000. Once again it was O’Connor who signed the docket, this time on behalf of Swiss show jumper Beat Mandli.
PONIES
A consistent demand for ponies led to some good returns around the country and none more so than at Cavan where John Mulligan’s 148cms grade B jumping pony Mohill Magic topped the March sale when knocked down to Noel Cosgrave (Birr Equestrian) for €13,000. Carrying some solid form, the eight-year-old mare had qualified for the Allianz Starfinder (6/7 year olds) last year and represented Ireland in the CSI European championships for young ponies.