IN keeping with the current trends, Part 1 of this year’s Tattersalls Ireland August National Hunt Sale was unable to match the returns of previous years but on the whole Thursday’s session returned a respectable level of trade when everything is taken into consideration.

A substantially reduced catalogue for this year’s sale boasted a new look with the opening day billed as a select session before the auction concluded with a brief Part II session yesterday afternoon. From 83 fewer horses offered on Thursday the turnover dropped by 44 points to just over €1 million and the average of €8,550 represented a fall of 18 points. However, the median of €6,000 was down by only 3% and it was interesting to note that the clearance rate held steady at 69%.