The famous Goldstar Charolais herd owned by Co. Tipperary man Martin Ryan hosted an online ‘production sale’ this weekend and the top-priced heifer sold for an impressive €14,000.
The timed auction was hosted in conjunction with Mid Tipperary Co Operative Livestock Mart, Thurles, and online bidding took place via MartEye.
The top price of €14,000 went to Goldstar Saoirse ET. This September 2021-born heifer was sired by Goldstar Echo – GHX and her dam is Goldstar Pepite.
Pepite is well known in showrings countrywide, having taken the Senior and Overall Charolais champion titles at this year’s Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show.
The heifer was described in the sale catalog as “spectacularly correct with perfect conformation” and had many victories during the summer showing season, including interbreed calf champion and overall show champion.
The sale
The sale featured 16 pedigree lots, one commercial heifer and five G1 embryos.
Lot 1 in the sale was a pedigree Charolais cow-calf combo, Cottege Maple and Goldstar Tasha, and sold for €6,000.
Cottage Maple is a third calver with a heifer calf at foot. The calf was sired by Orbi and Maple was served to Pirate on May 30, 2022 and was sold as ‘scanned in-calf’.
Selling for €7,500 was Goldstar Sunshine ET. This October 2021-born heifer was sired by Goldstar Echo – GHX GOLDSTAR ECHO – and her dam is Goldstar Ombrelle.
Sunshine was described in the sale catalog as “a super heifer with a wonderful head, super legs, locomotion and very stylish”. Sunshine took the reserve intermediate champion title at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society’s National Show in September.
Lot 8 in the sale was Goldstar Selena ET, who attracted plenty of attention from bidders too and sold for €7,250.
Selena is a September 2021-born heifer and was sired by Ballym Mylove, CH4880, and her dam is Goldstar Pannacotta. The heifer was described in the sale catalog as “a powerhouse of a heifer with spectacular conformation”.
Comments from the owner Martin Ryan outlined the heifer has “probably the best Charolais topline I have ever seen”.
The commercial heifer in the sale was a spring 2022-born heifer sired by Limousin bull Ulysse and sold for €1,750.
Her dam is a first calver by the old Charolais bull Domino. The heifer was an ET from the All Ireland Beef Heifer Champion at Strokestown in 2008.
There were five G1 embryos in the sale. The embryos were Goldstar Nightengale ET X GHX. The offering was described in the catalog as “one of the most successful crosses” the herd has ever made.
The embryos sold at €800 each with exception to the final one, which sold for €900.