THE 16th renewal of the Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale was an exciting affair resulting in an overall turnover of €1.75 million (down slightly from €1,886,500 in 2025) and a clearance rate of 83% (down from 86%). The average price was €26,119.40 and, in total, 67 of the 81 lots offered on the day were sold (seven were withdrawn from the original 88 selected).
Among the three-year-olds, the clearance rate was 80% with 52 of the 65 lots offered sold (two were withdrawn from the 67 selected) and the average price was €22,942.31. Among the four-year-olds, the clearance rate was 92% with 11 of the 12 lots offered sold (four were withdrawn from the original 16 selected) and the average was €38,091. All of the four five-year-olds offered were sold with the average price being €34,500.
The horses were presented at Barnadown Showjumping on Monday and Tuesday and then sold under the hammer at the Amber Springs Hotel on Wednesday evening with the inimitable Brendan McArdle (advertising and marketing manager at The Irish Field) acting as MC.
The sale topper, as reported on pages 92-93, was Tomás Doyle’s Monbeg Monaco, a four-year-old by Malcomme P, who went to Ian Barratt (UK) for €90,000. Doyle has form at the sale having also sold the topper in 2023 (Monbeg Condor) and Monaco looks set for success with Barratt’s daughter Elizabeth, a four-star rider in the UK. The next highest price paid was €80,000 for Ralph Conroy’s Milchem Giovanni, a four-year-old by Tyson who has been successfully campaigned by Jason Doerflinger including an impressive performance earning fourth place at the Burghley young event horse final in September. This horse is bound for the US where it will be ridden by Irish event rider Tim Bourke.
The successful renewal was the second with Ed Donohoe at the helm after the retirement of his brother Martin and he said he was thrilled with the outcome.
“It was epic,” Ed Donohoe told The Irish Field. “We were oversubscribed with people who wanted to be there. We had 300 seated and at least another 100 standing. We put a huge amount into marketing this year and it really paid off, particularly with the US market.
“I will admit we were a bit anxious about the American market after the news about the tariffs President Trump imposed but, as it happened, we had more US buyers attend and sold more to the US than ever, so we needn’t have worried. We brought the gala dinner back last year and upped the ante on that again this year, so it wasn’t just about the sale, people really appreciate the fact that they can come and have an end of season party as well, everyone had a lot of fun!
“Siobhan, my wife, does a wonderful job with all the social media and a huge shout out to Tadhg Ryan of Bit Media for the quality of the videos he put together. We had so many people telling us it was the slickest video content they had ever seen for a horse sale and that it really helped them get a proper examination of the animal before the sale.”
Donohoe added: “The quality of horse was also up again this year; it just keeps getting better and better and the selectors (Sally Parkyn, Chris Ryan, Nicky Roncoroni and Nick Gauntlett) did a brilliant job. People are coming from all over the world and we are so proud of that. There was a buyer for almost every animal and, with a couple of deals still being done, we expect to be just around €50,000 down on last year’s turnover which is phenomenal.”
International interest
Among the star-studded list of buyers (see full results on pages 92-93) are five-star riders and Olympians including Austin O’Connor (IRL), Aoife Clark (IRL), Oliver Townend (GBR), Alex Bragg (GBR), Max Warburton (GBR), Susie Berry (IRL) and Gaspard Maksud (FRA).
“All of the big names were there and, if not in person, they were bidding online. It really has become a date in the diary and these buyers know that the top breeders and producers are keeping their very best horses for this sale. It is an elite offering and that is what draws them in. To be able to offer 81 lots of that quality is another source of pride to us. The selection process is very thorough and can be very difficult, but we are looking for the best of the best and yes it can be tough to make that call to say your horse hasn’t been selected, but I think it’s also a good incentive to try to come back next year with something even better,” Donohue said.
Strong team
“The sale was set up years ago by my brother Martin, who is now retired, so it is all thanks to him, we are just trying to take it to the next level. He was there acting as auctioneer on the night and did a wonderful job as did young auctioneer Darren Hession. He is very flamboyant and brings great energy - he is going to be one of the best in the business. Darac O’Neill also did a great job on the night, as did Brendan McArdle as MC, he really helps to elevate the event.
“Of course, none of it would be possible without the rest of the team including our amazing operations manager Roisin McGrath and Orlaith and Sheila in the office.
“Overall, we couldn’t be happier and we are thrilled to have already got great feedback from those in attendance that it was a day and night to remember.”