An 85-acre stud farm going for sale on the edge of the Curragh Racecourse in Co Kildare is expected to appeal to the growing number of rich young Dublin businesspeople.

Susan Kirk of Coonan estate agents is quoting a guideline price of over £1 million for Kildare Stud, at Pollardstown, Newbridge, which goes to auction on February 23rd. Only a small number of stud farms have come on the market in recent years, largely because of the buoyant conditions in the bloodstock industry.

There is a general expectation that the industry will continue to thrive at least as long as the current economic boom. Kildare Stud once formed part of the extensive Pollardtown Estate, which bred many famous winners over the years. The present owner acquired the stud in 1987 from Liam Browne, the former jockey and leading trainer, who is still involved in training and horse breeding. Last year, the stud produced the winner of the Austrian and Hungarian Oaks.

Although the single-storey house has a fairly modest exterior, it is a stylish and comfortable home, ideal for entertaining. It is approached by a long, tree-lined avenue, which ends in a forecourt.

There are colourful gardens wrapped around the house, which has three exceptionally fine reception rooms including a dining-room with two marble fireplaces and double patio doors out on to the lawn. The formal drawing-room and the sitting-room also have direct access out on to the gardens.

The kitchen is also particularly spacious in keeping with the rest of the house. It has a bright and cheerful breakfast area, an attractive range of floor and wall units and the customary Aga. The six bedrooms include a guest suite with its own bathroom.

The yard has five loose boxes and a feed room, as well as a covered barn with five more boxes. All the paddocks have post and rail fences to ensure the safety of horses.

The stud is within an hour's drive of Dublin.