SHOW jumper Ethen Ahearne paid the top price of €30,000 for a Grandorado TN gelding towards the end of the Select Sale of three-year-old show jumpers and eventers at Goresbridge on Monday.

Ogue Grandato (Lot 34), who was bred and consigned by Goresbridge regular Anne Murphy, is a bay Irish Sport Horse out of the Aldato mare Ogue Ali Furist, a full-sister to Alfurist (1.60m). Her previous produce include the Ars Vivendi gelding Ogue Furist Al (169 Showjumping Ireland points), the Cobra mare Ogue Ardkyle (who competed in the 1.35m newcomers’ final at the Horse of the Year Show last October) and the Eldorado van de Zeshoek gelding Ogue Eddie O (CCIYH2*-S).

“My partner, Camilla Speirs, and I have had a bit of luck with horses we bought in the past from the same vendors,” said Ahearne. “The most recent was Ogue BT Special (who topped the 2017 December sale here as a three-year-old) who Camilla jumped up to 1.40m and we sold to the States during the summer. The plan is for her to jump this fellow in the RDS qualifiers next year. We didn’t go to see him beforehand but there was a lot of interest in the horse at the sale.

"I thought he was athletic, looked very blood and had great use of himself.”

With her brother Vincent, Murphy also consigned the home-bred Ogue Toy Boy (Lot 6) for whom Ronnie Morton paid €11,000. This chesnut ISH gelding by I’m Special de Muze is a half-brother to the Verdi TN gelding Ogue Verdi (CCI3*S). The pair are out of the Eurocommerce Pittsburg mare Ogue Luil, a half-sister to the Aldato gelding Ballinasillogue Cavalier (CIC3*).

Talented

MBF Sporthorses, who sold last year’s joint top-priced lot, MBF Golden Mix (a gelding by Aganix du Seigneur) to the USA, will have further reason to keep an eye on results from the States as a ‘cash’ customer across the Atlantic, who was bidding over the phone through Martin Donohoe, gave €29,000 to secure Lislan MBF Ivy (Lot 4).

One of 11 fillies in the sale, the daughter of Chacoon Blue was bred in Co Clare by Darragh Kelly but was purchased at the turn of the year from Michael Daly. She is out of the Cinsey mare Lislan Cherry. No winners were listed on her page in the catalogue but the grey was obviously high-regarded by Meabh Bolger and husband Brian Flynn who commented: “One of the most talented young horses we have ever had the pleasure of producing”.

Lot 4, Lislan MBF Ivy, was sold to the USA for €29,000 at the Goresbridge Select Sale of three-year-olds \ Tadhg Ryan Bit Media

“As I was pregnant at the time, Brian went and brought this one on his own,” said Bolger who led the filly up on Monday. “From day one, she stood out as something special both for her temperament and for her ability. She was the only horse we had for this sale but we have 10 heading to the Go For Gold Sale, one ridden horse and nine three-year-olds.”

As the sale commenced shortly after 4.30pm, Bolger and Flynn filled the role of purchasers as they parted with €5,000, the day’s lowest price, for Lot 1, Alanna Dunphy’s Lamogue Fusion.

The only dun in the sale, this ISH filly by Tullabeg Fusion was bred by Rosemary Ponsonby out of the unraced thoroughbred mare Warcraft Kate (by Warcraft), dam previously of the Puissance siblings Ladycraft (CCI3*-S) and War Hero (CIC2*). “She caught my eye at the selection day,” said Bolger, “and for that kind of money we just had to buy her.”

Panter W (Lot 11) made €23,000 at the Goresbridge Select Sale of three-year-olds \ Tadhg Ryan Bit Media

Great eye

Co Wexford’s Dale Adams, who returned to the competitive saddle at The Meadows recently, signed the €23,000 chit for Higgins Sporthorses’ Dutch Warmblood gelding Panter W (Lot 11) having been persuaded to keep bidding by her 15-year-old daughter Lauren. “We bought a couple of three-year-olds last year which we started off ourselves and were delighted with them so decided to go again,” revealed Adams senior.

“This fellow has been long-reined so when we get him broken and riding away, I might do a bit with him but he’s really Lauren’s ride and the plan is for her to get him out in four-year-old classes next year although she will still be jumping in ponies. Lauren wanted to buy her first pony when she was six and did so when she was eight. She then paid €700 for a three-year-old who was sharp and spooky but kind and jumped him up to Grand Prix. She has a great eye and knows what she likes.

“We didn’t look at Jason’s horses before the sale and really only studied the catalogue and videos over the weekend when we made up our minds to go on Monday,” continued Adams. “We watched all the horses jump and I thought this fellow was the best of the bunch. We didn’t mind the fact that he wasn’t Irish-bred as, in the season just over, we couldn’t do the HSI Studbook series as we were always doing something else with the ponies.”

Panter W, a grey son of Hardrock Z, was bred by Sity Wolters out of the Durango VDL mare Ierinda, a half-sister to the Lexicon brothers Fly High (1.55m) and Ewings (1.40m) out of an Emilion full-sister to Justin (1.60m).

Panter W was one of four lots consigned to the sale by Higgins Sporthorses who also sold the KWPN-registered Pepe D.V. (Lot 3), another Hardrock Z gelding, for €13,000 and the Belgian Warmblood gelding Ukato De Katapult (Lot 18) for €10,600.

Nine of first 12 lots offered found new homes but then transactions slowed right down which, including one private sale (Lot 20 for €15,000), resulted in a final clearance rate of just 44%. In addition to the sales-topper, the main bright spot in a tough second half session was the purchase of John Cawley’s unnamed ISH filly (Lot 24) for €14,000.

By Sligo Candy Boy, the bay was bred by the late Noel Cawley out of Sammy Jee (by Samgemjee) who comes from the family of Cast Away II (winner of the seven-year-old championship at Le Lion d’Angers in 2007), Spartakus (1.60m) and the stallion Cougar. The filly was knocked down to Tim Beecher who owns her full-brother Loughnatousa Buachail, winner of the five and six-year-old consolation class at the Irish Breeders’ Classic 2022.