AS I pen this the Tattersalls Ireland Flat Foal and Breeding Stock Sale is winding to a close, with a disappointing clearance rate for the first foals of the autumn season. An occasional highlight shows that anything with quality is selling, but the majority of breeders at this level are hurting.

For some there will need to be serious questions asked about the viability of breeding from the mares in their possession, given that there is no current demand for the resulting progeny. This is not a new mantra, while stallion masters are surely not enamoured of poorly related stock flooding the market.