“IT was a red hot sale and we were absolutely delighted with it,” commented Ed Donohoe, following the inaugural Goresbridge Copper Beach Sale, which was held in brilliant sunshine at the Co Kilkenny auction house’s base on Monday.

“We were very happy with the quality of horse put forward by our selectors (Ian Fearon, Sally Parkyn and Andrew Williams) and people came from everywhere to the sale to see them, or had done beforehand, with a huge amount of interest from the US. To think that the three top-priced lots were all mares bought for the States is amazing.

“The team in the office put in a huge amount of work, while outside, we really spruced the place up. We put in a cross-country track at the bottom of the car park, beside the river, and horses seemed to love it there. Potential buyers had the opportunity to ride the horses on Monday, before we had a champagne reception with some lovely food prior to the sale.”

A look at the figures show that 16 of the 23 horses forward (27 catalogued) were sold for an aggregate of €593,000, resulting in an average of €37,063 and a clearance rate of 70%. Looking closer, we see that all but two of the 13 four-year-olds sold (85%), but only half of the 10 five-year-olds found new homes.

The top-priced lot was a four-year-old filly, Monbeg Coco Light, who made €85,000, followed by the five-year-old mares Kilderry Knight (€80,000) and Kilbunny Show Girl (€77,000). While that trio were bound for the States, horses were also sold to Belgium, Britain, The Netherlands and the west of Ireland.

“We think there is a big future for this Copper Beach Sale, which both vendors and purchasers tell us is at a good time of the year,” concluded Donohoe.

“I’m delighted for Goresbridge that this sale worked,” commented Marti Rudd, whose husband, Tomás Doyle, sold Monbeg Coco Light. That €85,000 four-year-old filly is heading for the American hunter circuit, while her vendors will now concentrate on producing horses for the Go For Gold Sale in November.

“It was a phenomenal trade,” said Co Waterford’s Richie O’Hara, who sold the home-bred Kilbunny Show Girl (€77,000). “It was unbelievable that the top three horses sold were mares and, while people were worried about the American market with all the tariffs etc, this sale put those worries to rest.”

Read the full report on page 88.