SALE REPORT

Ryan McElligott

An excellent set of returns which yielded notable gains in all key areas saw last week’s edition of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale end on a high while also providing plenty of encouragement for the European yearling market through the remainder of the autumn.

A busy sales ground coupled with a host of quality individuals led many to speculate that the two-day auction could play host to some strong trade and that was certainly the case throughout the two days. Over the course of the two Premier Sale sessions, the aggregate came in at just under £20m, which was a 13-point progression on last year.

AVERAGE UP by 15%

The average climbed by 15% to £50,698, while the median improved from £34,000 to £37,000. Furthermore, the clearance rate for the sale was an impressive 88%. These figures compare very well with those from last year and also look especially impressive alongside those from 2015. With a series of major auctions in Ireland and England almost upon us, yearling vendors can take a lot of heart from last week’s activity.

It was encouraging to note that the top 10 lots were spread between seven different buyers, while the competition for horses was white hot from £70,000 and upwards.

Joe Foley, acting for owner Steve Parkin’s Clipper Logistics, signed for the sale topper – a £270,000 son of Bated Breath.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which seemed notably busy and signed for five lots, secured the second highest priced lot, which came in the shape of a £260,000 son of Kodiac.

The elite sire Dark Angel accounted for five lots that made at least £200,000. These were headed by a £250,000 colt hailing from Guy O’Callaghan’s Grangemore Stud.

ENCOURAGING TRENDS

The Premier Sale was followed by the more low-key one-day Silver Sale but there were encouraging trends to be taken from this too, as all the notable indicators comfortably bettered last year’s returns. Trade was quite selective at this level of the market last autumn so the performance of the Silver Sale was another heartening aspect of last week’s action.

In short, the English and Irish swing of the yearling sales season couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. The focus of the bloodstock world shifts across the Atlantic to Keeneland but last week’s events surely bode well for the upcoming Tattersalls Ireland September Sale and the following week’s Goffs Orby Sale.