NOT long home from Lanaken where elder son Kian finished 11th in the seven-year-old final on Helssinki, Carl Dore headed to Cavan, where he bought two Irish Sport Horse colts in the premier foals section of Wednesday’s youngstock sale. The Stoneville Stables owner gave the session’s highest price (€9,100) for Lot 71. This Balou du Rouet chesnut was bred in Co Louth by Cliodhna Breen, who jumped his dam, Eurgita, to 1.20m level. A 2009 daughter of Cantos, Eurgita is a half-sister to the Labor’s VDL Indorado mare Argita (1.45m) from the family of Dargita Z (CSIO5* 1.45m, second CSI4* 1.50m) and Ike (1.50m).

Dore also parted with €5,000 for Teresa Walsh’s Carrera VDL bay (Lot 53), whose dam, Plot De Fenhill, was campaigned by Portugal’s Duarte Seabra for Carol Gee, winning two CSIYH1* classes at Vilamoura. The Plot Blue mare is a half-sister to a host of international jumpers, including MHS Attracttion (1.60m) and MHS Gabhran (1.50m).

Lovely model

“The Balou du Rouet colt, who went home with his dam, but will soon be joining us, is a lovely model with very, very good conformation, a lovely step and a great attitude,” said Dore. “The other fellow, who came back (to Co Limerick) with us, is also a lovely type with a very good damline. I bought a Dominator Z colt here at the Elite Sales (giving €26,000) and two others privately.”

Wednesday’s sale saw 47 lots sold (a 42% clearance rate) for an aggregate of €153,950 and an average of €3,276. Of the sale in general, Dore commented: “The prices were back a little but, when the prices of three-year-olds are back, the price of foals have to go back as well. As usual though, a nice foal will still make plenty of money.”

Perhaps due to a post-Lanaken foal sale at Limburg on Wednesday, there was a noticeable shortage of overseas buyers at Cavan and all of the eight lots who made €5,000 or more were knocked down to Irish purchasers.

Return to Kylemore

Kylemore Stud’s Ivor Broderick signed the €8,500 chit for Patrick Connolly’s CSF Chacoon who, as Lot 113, was catalogued in the main body of the sale. The bay ISH colt by Chacoon Blue is out of the 2018 Kannan mare CSF Kayla, a half-sister to the Zirocco Blue VDL gelding CSF Whipper Snapper (1.50m).

“That colt was actually in our yard in the spring, as his dam was back to be covered again,” said Olive Broderick who, through The Stallion Shop, is the sole agent in Ireland for Chacoon Blue. “We bought Whipper Snapper as a foal at Goresbridge, producing him up to 1.50m level and only selling him this year; he’s a very good horse. This foal here probably has a bit more blood.

“We also bought (gave €3,700) Shane Connolly’s CSF Paddington (Lot 91), who’s by our own young stallion KMS Denver out of the (2019) Diamant de Semilly mare CSF Diana. There aren’t all that many foals on the ground by Denver, who’s by Dominator, but, now that he’s six, he covered a good book of mares this season. This was a difficult year for farming and this was a tough sale.”

As a case in point, Co Galway’s Isabelle Kenny received €15,000 for a Carrera VDL colt at last year’s elite sale, but only €8,200 on Wednesday for that fellow’s Chacoon Blue half-sister, Chaccoon Blue Filly (Lot 77). The pair are out of the Berlin mare Berlina (1.30m), a half-sister to the Emerald gelding Emmes 5 (1.45m) and to the Nabab de Reve mare Chamonix de Reve (1.45m). The grey was purchased by Annie Courtney Cadam.