LAST year Tony Williams supervised his first sale as the new managing director of Goffs UK, and celebrated with a 58% increase in turnover, a 26% rise in average and a 25% jump in median. A year on he posted returns that were broadly similar in terms of turnover, though the average and median fell by 14% and 20% respectively.

As the hammer fell Wednesday evening on the final lot of 2017 to be traded at Doncaster, Williams said: “It’s pleasing to end on a high note and today’s horses in training session has certainly been a success. Having large drafts from Godolphin and Shadwell bolstered the catalogue and that, in conjunction with horses from leading trainers such as John Gosden who sold the top lot today, gave the sale international appeal and drew a lot of domestic and overseas buyers from around the world to Doncaster. Yesterday’s yearling session followed the current trend but to have an increased median and an improved clearance rate of 76% was a good result.”