Youngstock Sale

THE 2019 sales season in Cavan reached its conclusion at the end of last week with sport horse youngstock and breeding stock coming under the hammer on Thursday followed by a sale of mixed Irish Draughts on Friday.

The top price on a busy day one came towards the end of the two-year-old session when Henry Foley gave €8,500 for Jag Double D (Lot 212), a gelding by Ard VDL Douglas. The bay was consigned by Co Kildare’s Carol Connolly who also received €4,700 from Britain’s Simon Hope for Jag Ladykiller (Lot 202), a similarly-aged grey gelding by Womanizer.

The pair were both purchased privately as foals from their breeder JAG Equestrian whose Juliann Gaffney produced them for this sale from Winterdown Farm and who led them up on Thursday.

“Jag Double D is out of the Je t’Aime Flamenco mare CSF Salut Flamenco who I thought was very talented,” said Gaffney. “She went double clear nearly every time she was out in 2014 but, unfortunately, she was then injured and was retired to stud. The two-year-old, who I think is going to be very special, is her second foal following a 2016 gelding by Arezzo VDL, while this year she had a colt by Tyson.

“Jag Ladykiller is out of Ballyscully Beauty (by Silvano). When we bought her in 2014, she was in foal to Womanizer and that foal, a filly which we still have, was so correct that we decided to go back to him. Before we got her, she had a Womanizer (the 2009 gelding Leanorth Grey Matter) who is jumping on the national Grand Prix circuit with Daniel McAlinden.”

Gaffney also stated that Ballyscully Beauty foaled another Womanizer colt this year.

Top-priced foal

While there was plenty of blacktype in the pedigrees of those lots who had full pages devoted to them, the top-priced foal came from outside that section with Michael Whyte giving €7,500 for Vickerstown Cornet (Lot 285) who was consigned by her Co Longford breeder, Damien O’Neill. The grey filly comes from the second crop of Glynnwood Cornet, who is ridden by Whyte for Peter Glynn and was also the sire of last year’s top lot (€4,700), and is out of the Ard VDL Douglas mare Angel Aura who was jumped over three seasons by Robert Garland.

The Brandon View Stud purchased four foals, giving their best price of €7,200 for Meath breeder Michael Callery’s colt by Balou Du Rouet (Lot 256A). The bay is out of Greenacres Quality (by OBOS Quality 004), a half-sister to the Cavalier Royale mare LCC Lux Like Cavalier (1.60m). This is the family of the 1.50m show jumpers Mr Rockefeller and Chief and the eventers Silver Night Lady and Touch Royale.

For €5,100, the Co Kilkenny Stud purchased Lot 308. An unnamed son of Dirado, this fellow was consigned by Co Sligo’s Jim Tempany who bred the brown colt out of the Kings Master mare The Kings Lady, winner of the Limerick Lady championship as a two-year-old. The dam is a half-sister to the Limmerick gelding Ridire Dorcha (CCI3*-L) and to Dance With A Stranger, winner of the three-year-old potential event horse class at Dublin in 2010. A Contendro I colt from this family was among the top-priced lots at this year’s Mayo Roscommon Breeders’ Group select foal sale in Mullingar.

Tempany also received €6,900 from Alberta Capital for Lot 150, an already gelded son of Sligo Candy Boy. This dam is the Darco mare Grande Dame E. She jumped up to 1.35m level with Cathal McMunn and is a half-sister to the dam of Sianca (1.60m). Also featured on the page are the 1.50m jumpers, Zingara and Lord Piana Celtic.

Well-related

Andrew Gardiner’s Doonaveeragh Aig (Lot 256) was knocked down to Rinroe House Farm for €7,000. By Narcos II, the brown colt’s dam, Doonaveeragh Amanda (by S Creevagh Ferro), jumped up to 1.20m level here and won her Newcomers regional final in Britain to qualify for the Horse of the Year Show. Importantly, she is a half-sister to Elizabeth Power’s High Roller gelding Doonaveeragh O One (1.60m) and comes from the family of Bob Le Cob (1.45m) and Doonaveeragh Victor (1.40m).

Andrew Gardiner's Doonaveeragh Aig (Lot 256) was knocked down to Rinroe House Farm for €7,000

Co Meath’s Trade Horse Ltd paid €6,600 for Conor Sheridan’s home-bred BVS Manitoba (Lot 303) . By Malito de Reve, this colt is out of the OBOS Quality 004 mare BVS Quelle Une Surprise who didn’t compete because of injury but comes from the family of Esker Encore (Grade B).