Ireland's Turn For Breeze-Up Action

Goresbridge sales in 2015 | Racing Post

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The picturesque Co. Kilkenny racecourse Gowran Park is again the scene where 238 horses galloped on Thursday in advance of Friday's Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale. The track was riding on the easy side of good following some overnight rain that lingered on well into the morning. That didn't stop a large turnout of prospective buyers arriving in their quest to find the next Fiesolana (Ire) (Aussie Rules) or Music Show (Ire) (Noverre), two subsequent Group 1 winners sourced from the sale for a combined total of just over €50,000. The European breeze-up market has been slightly hit-and-miss this year, but Martin Donohoe is confident he has assembled the right cast of horses to help drive the sale up another notch.

Last year, turnover came in at €4.6 million, up just over a million on the previous year, and Donohoe said, “I'm very happy with the catalogue and I'd like to thank all the vendors who have supported us with such a good bunch of horses. Thankfully we've seen a lot of activity here today and yesterday. A lot of the major players seem to be present, so let's hope that plays out into some good, strong bidding.”

Grove Stud provided the sale topper last year when selling the subsequent winner Semra (Candy Ride {Arg}) for €170,000, but unfortunately one of their interesting offerings, lot 89, a half-sister to Giovanni Boldini (War Front) by The Factor, has been withdrawn. Brendan Holland's farm, fresh from another successful Arqana sale, still offers an interesting trio including lot 49. This son of Kyllachy (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) has had a nice pedigree update recently with his half-sister Squash (GB) (Pastoral Pursuits {GB}) finishing second in the G3 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn S. and third in the G3 Betfred Chartwell Fillies S. at Lingfield. He put in a good, professional breeze and looks sure to be popular. Following a Group 1 double last weekend courtesy of Belardo (Ire) and Jemayel (Ire), stock by Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) are bound to be sought after, and Con Marnane consigns a filly by the Ballylinch Stud sire through his Bansha House Stables. Lot 102 has an attractive pedigree, being a half-sister to a stakes-winning 2-year-old in Boca Dancer (Ire) (Indian Ridge {GB}), and cost €30,000 as a yearling at Goffs last year.

Charles O'Neill and the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing have worked hard over the years alongside Martin Donohoe to bring this sale to where it is now, and O'Neill is hopeful their latest innovation involving Kranji Racecourse in Singapore will prove a success. “The sale will be streamed live in the owners' lounge at Kranji and prospective buyers have the ability to bid on horses through a Goresbridge representative at the track. It's exciting and hopefully something we can build on in the future,” said the ITM CEO. “We're also pleased to see increased representation from Greece and the Middle East, so we're hoping for a solid day of trade,” added O'Neill.

After breezing and some further inspections, those still at Gowran Park attended the Mark O'Hanlon memorial buffet, a now annual event held in memory of the former ITM executive who died last year. The sale commences at 10 a.m. on Friday morning in the Goresbridge Sales complex, and footage of the breeze show and the catalogue are available at www.irishhorse.com.

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