Twenty five horses remain in the €120,000 Foran
Equine Irish EBF Auction Race Final at Naas on Sunday after today’s forfeit
stage. These include Tom Mullins’ Powersville who has already claimed two races
in the series in the colours of his wife Helen. There is strong British
interest in the race for the first time with Rufus King from the Mark Johnston
yard still in the mix while Apple Anni is set to represent Mick Channon.
Other winners of previous races in the series who
could run for the first prize of €72,000 include Johnny Murtagh’s Beach
Wedding, Noel Meade’s Cocohulababy, Tom Cooper’s Lisard Lady, Ger Lyons’ Poetic
Light, Patrick Prendergast’s Red Persian, Tracey Collins’ Sollertia and Dermot
Weld’s Yulong Gold Fairy, a winner at the Galway Festival and could be
reopposed by Quizical and Captain Vancouver who followed her home that day.
Andrew Slattery’s Spiorad Saoirse is another Galway
July Festival winner, while Ball Girl, third in a Group 3 at the Curragh, and
Verhoyen, runner-up in a Listed race at Naas in May, are others who bring a
good competitive level of form to the table.
Sheila Lavery, Trainer: “It’s a great series and I try to target horses at
it. It can be a great payday for those inexpensive horses and it gives the
smaller yards a chance. Sevenleft won it the first year for us and we went home
with over with €45,000, it was better than winning a Group race.”
Brendan Duke, Trainer: “The Broghie Man has won €26,500 and he cost
€7,000. This has always being the plan to qualify him for the final and he will
be difficult to beat over seven furlongs at Naas. The series is fantastic and
Foran Equine and Irish EBF must be commended, some of the winners of the
qualifiers only cost €2,500. It gives the small trainer and owner something to
look forward to and a really good prize at the end of the rainbow.”
Andrew Slattery, Trainer
of Spiorad Saoirse: “The plan is to
run Sunday, I think he’ll run well, I think he’ll be a better 3yo, he ran over
6f at Naas the last day and it was a bit short for him. I think 7f will suit
him better. The Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Series is a great incentive, it
makes it easier to get an owner. It gives trainers like us a great chance.”
Gareth Connolly, Sales and Marketing
Director, Foran Equine: “The
Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Series has been an enormous success. Designed to
create opportunity within the industry, Sunday's final showcases the impact it
has had. For us the sponsorship of this series has been a way to give back to
the industry that has supported our business for over 40 years. I would like to
thank everyone who has supported the series, including the owners, trainers,
jockeys, breeders, racecourses and Horse Racing Ireland. I would also like to
thank the Irish European Breeders Fund for working so closely with our team to
promote and develop our partnership and we’re looking forward to a great final
at Naas on Sunday.”
Nessa Joyce, Manager, Irish EBF: “The purpose of the series is to drive interest in the middle to lower
end of the auction market. Based on feedback, we are very encouraged that the
series is fulfilling a need for trainers and owners of two-year-olds. The purchase
price of the entries in the final start from €2,500, with an average of just
under €20,000, which demonstrates that you can get involved in ownership for a
modest investment.”