A sale with plenty of diversity

A LOW-KEY fourth and final session of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale on Thursday brought down the curtain on the world’s largest sale of its kind. An impressive clearance rate of 90% saw turnover exceed 25 million guineas, the third highest in the sale’s history.

As usual, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony summed up the week, saying: “A record price for a colt of 625,000gns, four lots making 300,000gns or more and 14 selling for 200,000gns and above all demonstrate the enduring appeal of this unique fixture. The top 20 lots this week sold to buyers from England, Ireland, America, Australia, Bahrain, Dubai, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia and it is the diversity and sheer number of buyers which make this sale an unrivalled marketplace.

“The sale is a magnet for buyers at all levels of the market and the key to the sale’s appeal is that it caters for literally every possible requirement, both flat and National Hunt. Nowhere else will buyers find such a rich and varied choice of quality proven horses in training and it is this feature which makes the sale an unmissable event for so many people.

“Every year we marvel at the sustained demand from throughout the Gulf region and 2019 has been no exception. Buyers from Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have yet again had a massive impact on the sale, and there is no doubt that the growing strength of racing in the region has spurred the buyers on. They have been joined by strong contingents from throughout Europe, most notably Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Scandinavia and the Czech Republic, and from further afield Americans, Australians and buyers from Hong Kong have all contributed to a sale turnover bettered only twice and an impressive clearance rate of 90%.”