Records set at phenomenal 2024 Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale

The 2024 Goresbridge Go For Gold Select Event Horse Sale produced exceptional results, with new records set including a top-priced lot of €57,000. Held at Barnadown Equestrian Centre and the Amber Springs Hotel, and with bidding on site and online, the Sale highlighted the huge global demand for Irish-bred and/or Irish produced horses. with a total clearance rate of 86%, which was a 20% increase on 2023 figures.

The top-priced Lot 23 was a four-year-old gelding by the sire Cruising With Diamonds out of the Thoroughbred mare Windmill Cross and was sold by Trade Horse Ltd to a UK cash buyer for a whopping €57,000. Bred in Co Wexford by Michael Murphy, the gelding has been to a few training shows, and was well-schooled cross country.

That was closely followed by another huge final bid of €50,000 for Lot 18. Monbeg Can Do, by Sligo Candy Boy out of a dam by Colin Diamond and was purchased by another UK visitor, Karla Wheatcroft. Monbeg Can Do was a recent winner of the DAFM four-year-old Development class, was placed in the Balmoral four-year-old class, and placed 12th out of 120 starters in the Barnadown RDS four-year-old qualifier.

In total 12 lots achieved sales figures in excess of €40,000 with the 3-year-old section showing a clearance rate of 88% and €22,971 average price, while the 4-year-olds had an 88% clearance and €32,266 average.
No less than 18 of the 2024 Go For Gold lots are now heading to the USA, with 35 horses going to the UK while several more will be travelling to Canada, France and Italy. The list of international buyers included Olympians and five-star riders such as Oliver Townend (GBR), Max Warburton (GBR), and Karl Slezak (CAN).

With such a strong group of young horses now on their way to new homes, it won’t be long before we see them adding to the success of previous Go For Gold graduates such as Cooley Nutcracker (Elizabeth Halliday USA) who racked up two CCI4-L international wins in America 2023, Grantstown Jackson (Sarah Ennis IRL). Irish European championship squad 2023. Completed Pau CCI5 2023 and Cooley SRS (Oliver Townend) who was runner up at Badminton 2018, to name but a few.

Further details on the Gorsebridge Go For Gold Sale available on their website HERE