PRE-SALE anticipation that the first test of the market this spring for National Hunt store horses would prove to be selective were realised when Tuesday’s Goffs Doncaster Spring Store Sale produced a clearance rate of 69%, down from 81% last year.

The average fell 12% and the median price dropped 13%, fuelled by a significant fall in point-to-point sales activity in recent months. Nice horses still sold well, and the catalogues for the other main store sales at Goffs and Tattersalls Ireland read well in terms of quality.