“THIS is a day that has performed in the sales ring and on the track over the last two years, so it is a little disappointing that it has been unable to at least match last year’s figures.

“However we would suggest that today’s trade is perhaps symptomatic of the market in general over the last few months as the best are selling very well, as we saw over the last two days, but there is increasing selectivity as the foal crops grow again, which is clearly illustrated by the fall in the clearance rate.”

Such was the summary of Henry Beeby following the third staging of the Goffs UK Silver Sale on Thursday.

While last year’s top price of £40,000 for colts by Zoffany and Yorgunnabelucky was beaten twice, all of the other comparative figures were down.

With a 72% clearance rate, the aggregate was down by 7%, while the average and median took a steeper decline, falling by 19% and 30% respectively.

presence felt

Federico Barberini made his presence felt on the day, his single purchase being the top priced lot.

This was Catridge Farm Stud’s Monsieur Bond filly, a half-sister to three winners, two of which were stakes performers. She cost the agent £46,000 and was bought for owner Steve Parkin.

An hour or so earlier, Wadacre Stud’s Lethal Force colt briefly held the honour when falling to the bid of Bobby O’Ryan and Keith Dalgleish at £41,000. Only the third foal of his dam, the colt is a half-brother to seven-time winner Pipers Note.

This was one of half a dozen lots on the day bought by the purchasing duo, which included a Dandy Man filly for £25,000 and a Sir Percy colt for £20,000.

Royal Applause had two colts in the catalogue and both sold well. Suzie Sands sold a son of six-time winner Sonko to Powerstown Stud’s Tom Whitehead for £37,000, while agent Ahmad Aldowaisan gave £32,000 for West Moor’s son of the winning Cadeaux Genereux mare Jade.

Clive Cox took home three lots on the day, the most expensive being a Foxwedge half-sister to two winners from The Castlebridge Consignment.

She cost £36,000 and was purchased for Paul and Claire Rooney who will also race the day’s top-priced yearling.

Meanwhile, Con Marnane made a couple of purchases, headed by Green Oaks Farm’s Swiss Spirit colt for £34,000.

He is the first foal of triple juvenile winner Marmot Bay, a daughter of Kodiac and from the immediate family of Lochsong.

Stuart Dobb made a single purchase, giving £33,000 for Limestone Stud’s Equiano colt out of the Diktat mare Ivory Silk, who won six times.

James Tate’s bids of £28,000 and £27,000 ensured that he took home fillies by Mayson and Foxwedge respectively.

The former was one of five lots sold by Rosyground Stud and is a half-sister to a pair of winners.

Trickledown Stud sold eight lots for just short of £100,000 and best of these was their Foxwedge half-sister to the group-placed March.

Houghton Bloodstock sold seven lots and Jeremy Brummit gave £25,000 for their son of Archipenko and the winning Green Desert mare Desert Berry.

The colt’s two-year-old own-sister Rose Berry won recently.