IT’s not possible to write about all 47 three-year-old geldings in the sale who are being consigned by some of the country’s leading breeders and producers.
Michael O’Callaghan sold the top-priced lot in this age group last November, a British-bred Ramiro B gelding out of a thoroughbred mare, and the Co Clare vendor has three lots catalogued this time around including the closely related pair Lots 31 and 50, and another SHB(GB) gelding by Ramiro B, Russelia (Lot 72), who is out of a Dutch Warmblood mare.
As a prefix or suffix, the letters MFB appear in the names of Clooncastle MBF (Lot 26), a flashy chesnut by OBOS Quality out of a Touchdown mare; in MBF Luck Penny (Lot 33), a bay by the Dutch Warmblood Goodluck VDL out of a VDL Arkansas mare; in MBF Huntstown Cornet (Lot 40), a bay whose traditionally bred Loughehoe Guy dam is a half-sister to the Cruising stallion Yeats; and in MBF Corbeagh (Lot 42) who is by Quidam Junior I out of a Lux Z mare.
The prefix is also to be found in MBF Capri Du Carel (Lot 65), a chesnut by the Zangersheide stallion Capri van Overis Z out of a well-related Harlequin du Carel mare; in MBF Kingsriver Romeo (Lot 69) who is by the Dutch Warmblood sire Womanizer out of an Oldenburg mare who comes from a good dressage family in Germany; in MBF Old Mel (Lot 78), a bay by the ISH stallion Coonogues Hill out of a thoroughbred mare by Mummy’s Luck; in MBF Late Night Views (Lot 80), a bay by the Holsteiner Cormint out of an OBOS Quality 004 mare; but not, as yet, in Handsome Boy (Lot 60), a Dutch Warmblood by Hardwell out of a Cavalier mare.
While the vast majority of the three-year-old geldings are registered as Irish Sport Horses, there are other exceptions such as Emer Harley’s Jagerbomb PH (Lot 41), a Womanizer grey who is registered with the Warmblood Society of Ireland; the D.J. O’Sullivan-consigned NPS Lanzarote (Lot 62) who is by the Zangsheide stallion Campagne II Z; Jason Higgins’s well-related Zwavo’s John (Lot 75) who is a son of Unaniem (KWPN) and is registered with the Anglo European Studbook; and Christy Keane’s Nashville (Lot 76) who is by the Belgian Warmblood Grand Slam VDL.
Northern vendor James McEvoy is selling KSH Society (Lot 28), a well-related bay gelding by Rehy High Society (ISH); the Co Carlow-based Brandon View Stud has four lots entered, the flashy chesnut Cullintra Dignified (Lot 29) by Dignified van’t Zorgvliet, the well-related Lot 45 who is the sole Golden Master (ISH) in the sale, Lot 59 who is by the Belgian Warmblood Freestyle van de Wolfsakker out of a traditionally bred mare and the Numero Cruise (ISH) grey Lot 74.
Two Wexford vendors not previously mentioned are Mary Kehoe (Lots 38 and 66) and Tomás Doyle (Lots 39 and 68). All are well-related but two are home-bred sons of Dignified van’t Zorgvliet, Doyle’s Monbeg Django (39), who is a half-brother to the OBOS Quality 004 mare OBOS Impressive (CCI3*-S), among many other ‘blacktype’ performers, and Kehoe’s Lot 66, an unnamed bay out of a Luidam mare who competed in international pony classes.