AFTER two years in exile due to Covid-19 the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale enjoyed a successful homecoming this week by producing a set of results that stand up to close inspection.

In a couple of areas the auction couldn’t quite match last year’s record-breaking sale which took place in Newmarket.

However, the results are easily the second best in the history of the sale and they make for good reading on several fronts.

Some interesting context is provided by a comparison with 2019 which is the last time the sale took place in Ireland and the returns from this week are way ahead of three years ago.

At the time 2017 represented the zenith of the September Yearling Sale but those heights were also surpassed this week.

Thus the positive trends that were witnessed in the first month of the yearling sales season across Europe were once again in evidence earlier this week.

This would bode well for next week’s four days of yearling sales at Goffs.

At its conclusion the September Sale broke through the €12 million barrier for just the second time in its history to post a turnover of almost €12.5 million which represented a drop of 3% on last year.

The average of €30,075 was down 5% on the record-breaking figure of 2021 but the €26,000 median represented a new high for the September Sale and the clearance rate was an exemplary 90%.

As was the case last year six lots made six figures but it was interesting to consider other sectors of the market.

There were 69 horses in the sale who made at least €50,000 which is also a record for this auction and it is interesting to consider that just 45 managed that feat back in 2019.

Similarly the number of yearlings falling in the €30,000 to €49,000 bracket came in at 111 having been at 69 three years ago.

This represents real and tangible growth for a sale which has clearly been able to consolidate on the great progress it made last year.

As ever there were mixed fortunes for pinhookers. Of the 157 horses listed as being sold as foals and allowing a figure of €10,000 on top of the purchase price there were 68 pinhooks who showed a clear profit.

Sakes ground voices

“We had 22 horses there and all of them sold and that’s generally the sign of a good sale. I’d say nowadays people are prepared to pay that bit more for what they want and the breeze-up men played a big part over both days, they really helped the sale.” - Roger O’Callaghan, Tally-Ho Stud

“It was a very healthy sale across the board. These days there are a lot of sales so the quality gets a little diluted everywhere we go. But everyone loves to buy a nice horse and nothing gets missed so you have to be prepared to pay when you find one.” - Alex Elliott, agent