THE SOCIAL NETWORK:One of the richest women in the UK, Kirsten Rausing, arrived at the K Club on Tuesday for a Goffs party on the eve of the Goffs Orby Sale.
Her grandfather, Ruben, founded the Swiss-based packaging group best known for Tetra Pak. She is a cousin of Hans Rausing, whose wife, Eva, died in London in May this year.
Apart from her business interests, Rausing owns Lanwades Stud in Newmarket and Staffordstown Stud in Dunboyne, Co Meath, which is run by her manager, Julian Lloyd. Johnny Murtagh nabbed Rausing in one of the drawing-rooms. It seemed Murtagh was trying to find out how much Rausing wanted for one of the yearlings she was selling, without asking outright, while Rausing was trying to establish how much Murtagh had to spend, also without asking outright. It was like Fair Day circa 1950.
At one juncture Murtagh used an expletive, and Rausing looked highly amused. Sir Nicholas Nugent told Murtagh to mind his language. “Oh, let him be, Nick. I’m used to it. I lived in Ireland for four years,’ said Rausing.
Nugent is one of the auctioneers with Goffs and lives in Ballinlough Castle, where the Body and Soul Concert takes place.
(Rausing was the under-bidder the following day for a daughter of New Approach, which is also a full sister of Dawn Approach. The agent Peter Doyle forked out over €775,000.)
William Sackville, who insists on being called William rather than by his title, Lord De La Warr, was enjoying a short visit to Ireland. He and his younger son Ed run a stud. “You had one of my ancestors over here for a while, but I don’t think you really liked him, and one of the streets was named after him,” the Earl told me. Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland twice in the 18th century, and Sackville Street was named after him, before being renamed O’Connell Street after Independence.
Who we spotted
Sheikh Fahad al-Thani whose private plane arrived late and who checked in to the K Club at the end of the party; the chairman of Goffs, Eimear Mulhern, who was deep in conversation with fine-art dealer Mark Fielding; Sonia Rogers and her son Anthony Rogers of Airlie Stud; Elaine “Legs” Lawlor who is dividing her time between Goffs and Melbourne, where her boyfriend lives; trainer Jim Bolger
