TOMÁS Doyle and his wife Marti Rudd not only sold the highest-priced older lot at this week’s Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale, but found new homes for their entire 10-horse consignment ‘in the ring’ on Wednesday.
Topping their list of sales was the Michael McDonagh-bred Monbeg Can Do (Lot 18), for whom Britain’s Max Warburton, a regular buyer now at this sale and rider of the CCI4*-L performer Monbeg Exclusive, had the final bid at €50,000, when acting on behalf of Karla Wheatcroft.
The brown Irish Sport Horse gelding by Sligo Candy Boy out of a Colin Diamond mare won a four-year-old DAFM development class, was placed in his age class at National Balmoral and, with a double clear, finished 12th out of 120 starters in the Dublin qualifier at Barnadown in June.
Warburton went to €40,000 to secure Lot 34, Rudd’s home-bred three-year-old brown ISH gelding Monbeg Rubicon (HHS Cornet) for Wheatcroft. His dam is Monbeg Ruby (Diamant de Semilly), who has jumped at 1.40m level, as did his grandam Ballycapple Mist.
Another four-year-old ISH with a jumping record, Monbeg Dunard Blue (Lot 11), a son of Zirocco Blue VDL, was purchased by Co Down’s Ella Boyle for €45,000. The grey, who won a HSI development class and recorded double clears in all his age classes, was bred in Co Westmeath by Maeve Cuffe out of the Monaco mare Samenta, dam previously of the Touchdown mare Devine Spirit (1.30m).
Monbeg Winston (Lot 2), who jumped successfully in both Ireland and Spain this year, was knocked down for €41,000 to British international Fiona Kashel who, like Warburton, has a number of Monbeg-prefixed eventers in her Surrey yard. The flashy bay ISH by Winston was bred by Brendan Doyle and is a half-bother to, among others, the Lux Z mare ESI Florence (1.50m) and to the Guidam gelding ESI Hanoi (1.45), being out of the Landetto mare Visage van’t Paradus.
Wexford’s Henry Foley and Joanne Curtin of H&J Sport Horses, sold the beautifully-produced Cantona Kann (Lot 38) to Dublin-registered company Kelston Nook Holdings for €46,000. Bred in Co Sligo by John McDermott, the three-year-old ISH gelding by Cantona TN is out of the Kannan mare Minerva, from the family of Boherdeal Cruise (CCI4*-S). “From the bit I’ve done with him, I think this fellow has the jump to go on to be a top jumper,” said Foley. “He is very well-balanced and has a great attitude. It was a very strong sale and Ed (Donohoe) did a great job.”