A BRISK demand for older horses with form led to a glut of good prices at Goresbridge last week, while Monday’s returns delivered the sale company’s best single day’s trading for 10 years.

The appetite for quality older horses was relentless, and while it steadied with the onset of the younger stock on Tuesday, the figures revealed a hike in both clearances and average. As buyers from the commercial and the private sectors tangled for ownership, the resulting figures delivered an overall clearance of 72% (65% in 2017) and an average of €3,705 (€3,422). These figures were moderated by the pony and the three-year-old returns, whereas Monday’s trade of older horses illustrated that 77% (65%) changed hands at an average of €4,236 (€3,570).