A DAY before Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale began we held an auctioneers’ meeting to discuss how we might sell in the optimum time and not finish too late.

Martin Mitchell had forensically examined the previous year’s sales and how long each auctioneer had taken to refer to the horse’s pedigree, to take an opening bid and how long they took to sell each horse.

It was an interesting exercise and made for some terrifying reading if you realised you had been losing time consistently between the fall of the hammer and announcing the next lot into the ring. Readers may not realise the pressure that all sales companies are under to try and finish by early evening. Nobody is happy when a sale goes on too late.Auctioneers have to balance this desire with giving each and every lot appropriate time in the ring.

Before this year’s two-week October Sale we identified where we could expedite the whole process and by adhering to the issues or points that Martin Mitchell had outlined we ended up selling in a more efficient way and finished considerably earlier than scheduled. Interestingly both vendors and purchasers welcomed the earlier finishing time.

Starting the sale there was a good atmosphere though, as you would expect, there was a certain degree of apprehension among vendors. With expectations high, the sale started solidly on Tuesday, was extremely strong on Wednesday and hotter still on Thursday, a day I will never forget.

Earlier in the day I had viewed Lot 442, a Galileo half-brother to the King George winner Harbinger, from Ashbrittle Stud. The owner of the yearling was Mr Nick Ooi, a Malaysian businessman who has been based in Britain for 30 years. He bought the dam, Penang Pearl, as a two-year-old breeze-up and raced her himself, keeping her as a broodmare after she retired. In 2005, Ooi made the decision to send her to Dansili, a mating that produced Harbinger.

I thought the Galileo yearling was particularly nice, correct, well-balanced, walked well and was relaxed, like the majority of horses by the world’s greatest sire. I asked the two girls showing me the yearling if there was a specific reserve price and they told me that someone would speak to me on this later.

The yearling in question was in my last session on the rostrum on Thursday afternoon and when he entered the ring I cast my eye downwards to see what the reserve was. I was somewhat taken back to see there was none! I asked my assistants if they were sure that there was no reserve price and they confirmed there was indeed none!

I thought it was reasonable to ask for an opening bid of 400,000gns for a yearling of this quality. Getting no takers, I asked 200,000, then 100,000. Something must be seriously wrong, I thought. Upon asking for 50,000, 20,000 and then failing to even get a bid of 10,000gns, I reminded the auditorium of the animal’s pedigree and what a proper yearling I thought he was!

Eventually someone on the rope put their hand up when I asked for the minimum bid. Remember, the horse had no reserve price and was selling now for 5,000gns.

I asked for more and eventually someone in the seats opposite me put their hand up. Slowly the bidding rose to 10,000, 20, 30, 40 and then 50,000gns between the only two bidders. Eventually a bloodstock agent joined in and bid 60,000 to which my opening bidder offered another 5,000!

Thankfully both John Magnier and John Warren decided to join the fray and bidding rose rapidly from 60,000gns to when the hammer was finally knocked down to John Magnier at 2.6 million guineas or just under €3.5 million! What an amazing price considering that I had nearly brought the hammer down much earlier!

The October Yearling Sales were remarkable from Book 1 right through to Book 3. The demand was extraordinary and, having viewed so many of these yearlings earlier in the year, it was immensely gratifying to see vendors get well rewarded.

One in particular was Cherry Faeste, a sister of Philip Myerscough, who had a smashing colt by Holy Roman Emperor and half-brother to Grandeur. I had viewed him in a paddock at their Tougar House Stud just outside Waterford and I was immediately taken by him even though I couldn’t get too close to him as he galloped in circles around me! He made 390,000gns and Philip Myerscough, who only retired from the rostrum last December and is the youngest looking man for his age I know, was overcome with emotion!

I WENT to Newmarket for the two-week October Sales by car and ferry. My car was full leaving Kildare, packed with the necessary suits, shirts, shoes, waterproofs, and two travelling companions - an eminent veterinary surgeon and a stallion owner.

We left early on Prix de l’Arc day to catch the 8.05am ferry from Dublin Port to Holyhead, having been notified that the day’s later high-speed sailing was cancelled due to forecast high winds. The four-hour boat trip was followed by a 300-mile drive and, between stopping for food and a chance to watch some of the Longchamp races, we didn’t arrive at Newmarket until 8pm.

The return journey on my own last weekend was less entertaining. Poor weather and heavy traffic volume meant that I only just made the 2.40am boat on Saturday.

It’s back to Newmarket for me tomorrow, by plane thankfully, as the four-day Autumn Horses in Training Sale starts on Monday. The largest sale of its kind in the world, it attracts buyers from all over the world. Among the future Group 1 winners to have come out of this sale in recent years are G Force (25,000gns), Obviously and The Offer.