“THAT was some show,” exclaimed auctioneer Louis De Cleene as he stepped off the stage just before midnight on Friday, August 8th, 2025. And it was an apt description of the vibrant Flanders Embryo Auction in Dublin, where the prices hit a new record.

Two embryos sold for €88,000 and one for €84,000. Although the Irish pushed hard, Brazil’s former Olympic champion Rodrigo Pessoa signed the contracts on the spot on behalf of his sponsor, Artemis Farms.

The fifth edition of the auction was held in the stunning InterContinental Hotel at the corner of the RDS Dublin Horse Show. Hundreds of equestrian fans stood and sat packed together, discussing pedigrees, enjoying drinks and following the auction to the very last second. Louis De Cleene had his hands full keeping things under control, part of the charm of Dublin.

The Irish know what they want and embrace the concept of the Flanders Embryo Auction. The buyer earns the title of breeder and the pedigrees of these unborn foals are of top quality. American Kristy Clark of Artemis Farms in Wellington also knew exactly what she wanted for her budding breeding programme. She sent her sponsored rider, Rodrigo Pessoa, to secure three embryos, but no one expected she would have to pay €260,000 to get them.

Of the 25 embryos sold (due in 2026), 24 fetched an average of €30,300, another record for Flanders. The first to reach €88,000 was the United Touch S out of McLain Ward’s Azur HH (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve), the most successful mare ever with €4.3 million in prize money.

Sold for €84,000 was the Ermitage Kalone out of the 1.65m Grand Prix mare Like A Diamond Van Het Schaeck (Diamant de Semilly) and the evening’s finale - again €88,000 - was for the full-brother or sister of Christian Kukuk’s Olympic champion Checker 47 (Comme il Faut x Come On).

Irishman James Doyle was just as determined to secure the final lot and took on the challenge, but after a long battle, he conceded and shook Pessoa’s hand to loud applause. Doyle, a valued customer since the first Dublin edition, purchased two other embryos that evening, including the Mylord Carthago out of Qerly Chin’s daughter Toxine de Mars (Dollar de la Pierre) for €33,000.

Start strong

Pessoa was relieved that the mission had been accomplished. “Artemis Farms is an amazing sponsor for me and Kristy Clark is a fantastic person. She’s very passionate and wants to focus a bit more on breeding. Then you’d better start strong, buy something here and hope for a filly. Fillies with these bloodlines rarely come onto the market,” Pessoa commented. “It’s just a pity I probably won’t get to ride them myself,” he laughed, referring to his age.

Three embryos were sold online, the other 21 in the room, with 16 going to Irish buyers. Irish Olympic rider Darragh Kenny bought two: the Emerald x Heartbreaker three-quarters sibling of the 1.60m Grand Prix mare Kalinka van ’t Zorgvliet for €40,000 and the Ermitage Kalone out of the full-sister of his former top horse Romeo 88 (1.65m) for €30,000. Daniel Coyle’s owner Ariel Grange secured a Chippendale Z x Coriano Z three-quarter sibling to Legacy for €17,000. Bertram Allen, together with Aloga Auction, purchased the Pacino x Cornet Obolensky, bred out of the 1.60m Grand Prix mare Areeb O.L. Greg Broderick also secured two future stars.

Racing connection

Better known for his point to point operation yet a big fan of the Flanders auction is Donnchadh Doyle of Wexford who said his sport horse breeding business was “more of a sideline”. But thanks to Flanders, that sideline has proven lucrative with one of his string catching the discerning eye of the Army Equitation School.

“We bought at the first auction six years ago and the Cornet Obolensky foal we got, DJ Doyle, turned out to be a cracker and we sold him to the army last Autumnn. He is doing really well and will be one for the future for sure. We missed two years over Covid but now we have a couple of really nice three-year-olds who look really good on the loose, two are by Cornet’s Balou, and there’s a Cornet Obolensky - they look really nice for this year. They will be broken and they they go on to Jason Higgins Sporthorses and he does the rest! The foals this year are by My Lord Carthago and Emerald and they are looking great as well.

“The auction is a great experience, it was something new for us but we have been very lucky, we got all good correct foals from it and they look after you very well on the night and the service is top notch,

“We will definitely be going back this year, I’ll check out the catalogue this week and we will head for Dublin. I’d definitely recommend the auction to anyone considering it - you just can’t get into those big pedigrees any other way really. We have a five-year-old qualified with Ger O’Neil so we’ll be there to support him too, it’ll be a great week as always.”