SOME fantastic sporting items will be open to online bids from next Tuesday as a fundraiser for Down Syndrome support services.

Among the 30 items on offer are Six Nations tickets for the Ireland-France game, a signed Ireland jersey, a pair of britches donated by champion jockey William Buick and signed by the jockeys who rode in Alpinista’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and a race sponsorship package with lunch for four at Naas.

The online auction will close at midnight on December 10th, the same evening on which the inaugural T21 Ball will be staged in Dublin’s Alex Hotel. There will also be some exclusive items auctioned at the event.

John and Sophie Barrett, a well-known couple in racing, are behind this exciting initiative. John runs Sean Barrett Bloodstock Insurances and Sophie is daughter of successful thoroughbred breeders Philip and Jane Myerscough. John and Sophie’s third son, Seve, was born with Trisomy 21, the medical term for Down Syndrome.

The auction and ball will get an official launch on Sunday when Punchestown stages the Irish EBF supporting galabid.com/T21 Auction for the Down Syndrome Centre Maiden Hurdle.

Kerry Ryan of Kerry Ryan Event Management, and formerly of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, is helping the Barretts to spread the word and raise a significant amount of money for the Down Syndrome Centre in their area, a charity which provides services to families of children with Down Syndrome and which relies solely on donations.

If you would like to donate any additional auction items, please contact John on 086 6738810 or Sophie on 083 4514651 or email TheT21ball@gmail.com

Web: galabid.com/t21