THIS week’s Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale at Doncaster was keenly awaited. It promised to provide a tangible and telling guide as to what lies ahead for this year’s round of yearling sales in Britain and Ireland.

Following close to a decade of continued growth in its average, the two-day sale was unable to keep pace with last year’s results. The looming spectre of Brexit and a tough round of breeze-up sales earlier this year has meant that there hasn’t been any great optimism abounding ahead of the yearling sale’s season.