AS I pen this the Tattersalls Ireland Flat Foal and Breeding Stock Sale is winding to a close, with a disappointing clearance rate for the first foals of the autumn season. An occasional highlight shows that anything with quality is selling, but the majority of breeders at this level are hurting.

For some there will need to be serious questions asked about the viability of breeding from the mares in their possession, given that there is no current demand for the resulting progeny. This is not a new mantra, while stallion masters are surely not enamoured of poorly related stock flooding the market.

As stud fees for 2019 are being released, there is a growing disparity between the most successful sires and the rest of the stallion population. Commercial fees for next year are, on the whole, moving downwards or staying put.

At the top of the market there seems to be a view that the best stallions have reached a peak. While Galileo’s fee remains private, and access to him highly selective, the next four leading sires in Europe with fees announced – Dubawi, Sea The Stars, Frankel and Invincible Spirit – all remain unchanged.

Not surprisingly, some of the biggest movers come from the ranks of the first crop sires, with No Nay Never’s fee quadrupling the biggest talking point. The sensational start he made at stud and the popularity of his stock at the sales was certain to lead to an increase in his fee, no doubt followed by patronage of the best breeders.

WAR HEROES

While accurate numbers are not available, even at this remove, it has been estimated that anything between six and eight million horses were killed in World War I, along with countless donkeys and mules. Many of these came from Ireland.

While the life of an animal can never be equated with the loss of live suffered by human beings, it is nonetheless fitting and entirely appropriate that we remember all who suffered as a result of the war this weekend. Some 35,000 Irish are known to have been fatalities in the war.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Two issues with photographs this week caused me concern. What was the point in some newspapers showing a picture of the moment when The Cliffsofmoher suffered his critical injury in the Melbourne Cup?

Secondly, why does Buckingham Palace continue to issue photographs of Queen Elizabeth riding without head protection? It is contrary to every message we try to teach young people.