A fortnight of selling at Park Paddocks came to a close on Saturday with an abbreviated, single-session Book 4 bringing the curtain down on the 2021 edition of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. From 98 yearlings catalogued, 74 went through the ring, with the 46 sold adding 184,200gns to the coffers. Topping trade was Throckmorton Stud's Ardad (GB) filly (lot 2004) who was the choice of Con Marnane at 18,000gns.
While Book 4 featured a much more modest level of trade than that seen over the past two weeks, it nonetheless continued the trend of strong trade seen throughout the sale. It marked just the second time in seven years that the average exceeded 4,000gns (it was 4,004gns), and the median of 3,000gns was the session's highest since 2017.
Book 1 set a strong tone for the sale, its figures well clear of its 2020 pandemic-impacted edition, in particular the median of 160,000gns, which was the highest at Book 1 since 2018 and third-highest ever. The continued strength of the middle market was on display at Books 2 and 3; Book 2 set records for aggregate, average and median and surpassed a turnover of 50-million guineas for the first time. Book 3 likewise set records across the board by a long way.
At the conclusion of the 2021 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said, “Last year's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale was hailed as a story of remarkable resilience in the face of uniquely challenging circumstances. This year it should be hailed for the sustained demand from start to finish at all levels of the market.
“We work hard to attract international buyers every year and the overseas contingent, most notably from America, Australia and throughout the Gulf region, has made a huge contribution throughout the past two weeks, but without doubt the most encouraging feature of the 2021 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale has been the domestic British and Irish demand which has been a revelation.
“Book 1 set the ball rolling with a show of strength that saw significant gains in all of the key indicators and gave a hint of things to come with a record number of six figure transactions which demonstrated the depth and diversity amongst the buyers. Books 2 and 3 followed suit with unrelenting competition amongst extraordinary numbers of buyers and records for turnover, average and median which can only inspire confidence for the industry going forward. Similar to Book 1, the number of yearlings at Book 2 selling for 100,000 guineas or more was unprecedented, as was the number of yearlings reaching the 50,000 guineas mark in Book 3.
“We have a magnificent product and the last two weeks at Tattersalls have showcased so many of Europe's finest yearlings to a global audience. The consignors and breeders have shown huge faith in the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and they have been spectacularly rewarded. Park Paddocks has been teeming with life over the last two weeks and after the ordeals of the past 18 months it has been a real pleasure to see the sales grounds, the bars and the restaurants alive with activity again, reinforcing Newmarket's status as the hub of the European Thoroughbred industry.
“We now have an Autumn Horses in Training Sale of real quality to look forward to, followed by exciting catalogues for both the December Foals and Mares Sales and after the success of the past two weeks we can approach the remainder of the 2021 season at Tattersalls with a degree of optimism.”
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