THE Tattersalls Group continues to revise the dates of its sales in Britain and Ireland, the latest change being to the sales at Cheltenham (see right).
Chairman of Tattersalls, Edmond Mahony, updated The Irish Field: “Normally we would be breezing on Easter Monday for the Craven Sale but of course all the breeze-up sales have had to be rescheduled as published.
“The inspections and selections were completed in January and February and the catalogues compiled but the first sale, the Ascot Breeze-Up Sale, which was due to be held on March 31st and April 1st, has been postponed to an amalgamated date along with the Craven Sale on May 27th, 28th and 29th.
“The Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale date is unchanged so far, due to be held on Friday, May 22nd at Fairyhouse and Tattersalls Ireland.”
Australian sales company Inglis (in which Tattersalls hold a 25% stake) conducted a successful Easter Yearling Sale last week (see page 41) despite being forced to sell online and accept telephone bidding only. Is this a possible future model for bloodstock sales?
“Inglis have a head start with this online platform and have used it previously for horses at the lower end of the market.
“And because of the nature of sales in Australia, a lot of the horses would already have been seen by potential buyers on farms. Interestingly, the majority of horses sold came from farms based in the Hunter Valley, where they could have been viewed, whereas horses coming from farms outside the Hunter Valley were less in demand.
“Because of our relationship with Inglis we are quite well-versed with the process and are looking at it. The streaming of quality videos and photos for virtual sales would be essential.
“We were planning to video all of the horses coming from Ireland for the Ascot and Craven sales but, due to the lockdown, unfortunately this could not happen.”
Is it likely to be difficult for vendors to get into a sale when auctions resume?
“All the breeze-up sales horses have their slots but whether the revised sales take place on their currently designated dates depends entirely on the lifting of government restrictions in the UK and Ireland.”
Mahony continued: “It is crucial for the industry that the breeze-up consignors get an opportunity to sell before the yearling sales come around in order that they are in a position to reinvest in yearlings.
“It’s essential for the industry that racing starts, even if racing is conducted behind closed doors in Europe as is happening in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and some American tracks.
“Even running Royal Ascot behind closed doors could be problematic as ideally, horses would need a run beforehand. And if the classics continue to be pushed back it will complicate the summer schedule.”
Store sale
The store sale horses have all been seen and selected and the Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale has been pushed back to June 26th immediately after the flagship Derby Sale June 24-25th. The balance of the three- and four-year-olds can be entered to the August National Hunt Sale at Fairyhouse.
With the forced end of the points’ season in Ireland and England so many young point-to-point horses have been denied a chance to run.
“Yes, unfortunately the Cheltenham sales in April and May have been lost with a new date booked in October, to be followed by the traditional November and December renewals.
“The IHRB has indicated that there will be an enhanced autumn racing programme in the National Hunt sphere to give as many horses as possible a chance to run.
“Tattersalls staff members continue to work remotely with the exception of some essential ground staff. Some members of the Newmarket team have had to be furloughed.
“We are looking forward to being fully operational as soon as possible. We realise what a difficult time all our clients are having and want to offer them as full a sales programme as we possibly can, and at the earliest possible opportunity, while always ensuring that the health and wellbeing of our clients and staff remains at the forefront of our plans. ”
New Tattersalls Cheltenham schedule