New for 2021

Updated Foal and breeding stock Sales

It was inevitable that the bloodstock year 2020 would end in an unusual manner as COVID-19 continued to disrupt nearly every aspect of life. Tattersalls’ socially-distanced December Sale was held in its usual slot but without the ‘League of Nations’ ambience which is the hallmark of this most international of auctions. Arqana’s December Sale in Deauville also occupied its regular place in the calendar, straight after Tattersalls, but was an abnormally subdued event held under the very stringent lockdown conditions which applied in France at the time. And Goffs November Sale was postponed until the weekend before Christmas as Ireland was in lockdown at the time that it had originally been scheduled.

Under the circumstances, trade in all three venues held up remarkably well, thus echoing the trend seen throughout the previous seven month, during which it became clear that hope was continuing to spring eternal in the horse-trader’s breast. Demand turned out to be diminished far less by the woes of the wider world than one might have expected. The dearth of international visitors to these end-of-year sales did not, of course, prevent overseas studs from boosting their broodmare bands by buying fillies and mares, as they were able to do their bidding via local agents or on-line.

Vendors at Goffs must have felt nervous going into a sale which ended only four days before Christmas, but happily trade stood up remarkably well. Constraints of time meant that the foals were all sold in the same part of the sale rather than in two separate sections; and the sale lacked any stand-outs, such as the Galileo filly ex Inca Princess who was sold for 1,100,000 euros in 2017 (a figure which made her the most expensive foal sold anywhere in the world that year) or the full-brother to Ghaiyyath (ie a colt by Dubawi ex Nightime) who was bought by Godolphin for 1,200,000 euros in 2019. The stars this year were four Frankel foals, three of whom fetched 440,000 euros with the fourth selling for 360,000 euros. These helped the 482 foals sold to amass an aggregate of 17,578,600 euros, at an average of 36,470 euros and a median of 20,000 euros.

The closing figures from Tattersalls’ December Sale confirmed that the fears which many had held for the economic health of the bloodstock world had been unfounded. In recent years, the benchmark for a great year for Tattersalls had been that its annual turnover should exceed 250,000,000 guineas. In 2019 it had been 302,381,400 guineas. The figure for 2020 was 260,907,300 guineas, a very healthy total (notwithstanding that it represented a drop of 13.7% from the previous year) and one which must have evinced huge sighs of relief all round.

TATTERSALLS DECEMBER SALE YEARLINGS
Year Cat'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (GNS)
2016 200 168 142 4,377,500 30,827 21,500
2017 200 160 124 4,271,500 34,448 25,000
2018 201 162 118 4,200,500 35,597 21,500
2019 202 167 131 4,149,500 31,676 25,000
2020 173 142 122 3,986,300 32,675 20,000
TATTERSALLS December Foal SALE
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (GNS)
2016 1,136 957 743 30,568,350 41,142 21,000
2017 1,147 957 742 32,668,200 44,027 25,000
2018 1,175 969 681 34,924,757 51,285 25,000
2019 1,125 921 663 29,338,300 44,251 22,000
2020 934 791 628 26,255,100 41,807 20,000
TATTERSALLS DECEMBER SALE MARES
Year Cat'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (GNS)
2016 1,060 891 681 44,709,200 65,652 27,000
2017 1,087 857 675 68,315,300 101,208 25,000
2018 1,098 878 728 60,712,100 83,396 20,500
2019 1,025 812 668 57,790,900 86,513 27,000
2020 1,108 866 735 43,111,900 58,656 20,000
GOFFS NOVEMBER BREEDING STOCK SALE
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 467 401 20,777,700 51,815 15,000 (Top lot 1,600,000)
2017 445 345 14,924,450 43,259 15,000 (Top lot 1,900,000)
2018 363 235 6,289,000 26,762 10,000 (Top lot 350,000)
2019 295 242 8,022,900 33,152 14,000 (Top lot 525,000)
2020 199 173 5,479,600 31,674 14,000 (Top lot 390,000)

* held in December

ARQANA DECEMBER SALE
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 832 620 23,035,500 37,154 16,000
2017 871 688 31,249,000 45,420 19,000
2018 901 683 33,276,500 48,721 18,000
2019 918 698 34,384,500 49,261 19,000 
2020 704 557 25,270,500 45,369 16,000

SALES REVIEW

HOLDING FIRM

JOHN BERRY crunches the numbers from the past year’s sales


IT all started so well! The first major auction of the European bloodstock year, Tattersalls’ February Sale (which, paradoxically, took place in January), set the tone for what seemed likely to be another very buoyant year. The composition of this sale can be variable (and the 2018 catalogue had been freakishly strong, not least because Willie John accounted for nearly a quarter of the aggregate when selling for 1,900,000 guineas, offered because of the commercial setbacks suffered by his part-owner Markus Jooste), but the 2020 edition seemed very solid, showing significant gains on the previous year’s figures.

Then, of course, things all went horribly wrong, 2020 becoming, as we know now, the year of Covid-19. The obvious upshot of the massive financial damage done to the wider global economy by the pandemic would have been a serious recession in the bloodstock world. Surprisingly, that has not happened, yet, although some sales did not hold up as well as others.

It took us a while to find out how things would develop because the sales scheduled around Europe during March, April and May were all postponed or cancelled as countries struggled through lockdown; but when a degree of normality returned in June, the results were by and large surprisingly good.

The first sales to take place as restrictions on movement began to be eased were the breeze-up sales, which ought to have been held in the spring. There was an element of urgency here as so many breeze-up horses are selected because of their perceived precocity, so any further delay in offering them would have seen their principal selling point became ever less relevant. Some consignors had already taken matters into their own hands and sold their stock privately, none doing so with more conspicuous success than Robson Aguilar, whose protégé The Lir Jet took his record to two-from-two in only the third week after the resumption of racing in Britain by taking the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Ascot. Aguilar had bought The Lir Jet from Ballyhane Stud for £8,000 as a yearling at Goffs UK’s Premier Sale in Doncaster the previous autumn.

As it turned out, the returns from the rescheduled breeze-up sales were far less bad than many had feared when the auctions did finally take place. Figures were generally down but not nearly as severely down as many had predicted. (It should be noted that the returns from Goffs UK’s sale at Doncaster, which seemingly posted massive gains, are not comparable with the figures from past years because the catalogue was bolstered by horses rerouted from Arqana’s cancelled sale).

The next major trial for the market came when Tattersalls’ July Sale was held in its time-honoured date. This featured a smaller catalogue than usual (surely the result of many potential vendors being fearful of offering their horses in what one might have expected to be a very depressed market) but, that aside, to the surprise of most observers, this sale tended to be pretty much like any other, the median in line with that posted in recent years.

Particularly striking was the remarkably good clearance rate (95.9%), which presumably stemmed from people being loath to place unrealistic reserves (or any reserve at all) on their horses. So successful was the sale that Tattersalls laid on another in August. This too, with a catalogue larger than the July Sale, produced results that exceeded expectations.

When the time came for the yearling sales in the autumn, many figures suggested a bloodstock community unaware of the troubles facing the wider world. Book 1 at Tattersalls, that patronised by the major international players who often seem immune to recessions, showed figures that did not fall far short of those posted in recent years. It was the same in Book 2. Relatively speaking, Books 3 and 4 were hit even less hard, although admittedly Book 4 results are generally so poor as to give very little scope for further deterioration.

Sadly and inexplicably, Goffs and Goffs UK did not get off nearly so lightly. For Goffs’ vendors, there was the further blow of the Orby Sale being held in England (at Doncaster), which pushed up costs at a time when breeders were least well placed to bear them. This was a particular problem for vendors operating in the lower tiers of the market. The costs of taking their horses to England equate to a sizeable portion of the sale price (and prove particularly disastrous for those whose horses end up not being sold).

It was no surprise when Goffs announced that its October Open Yearling Sale, where the median price in 2019 was merely €4,000, would be online in November. The idea of taking these horses to England to be sold was clearly a non-starter.

The major horses-in-training sale of the autumn, that held by Tattersalls in Newmarket towards the end of October, followed the trend of posting returns that didn’t fall as far as feared. This sale as usual triggered a mass equine diaspora, dispatching horses seemingly to all corners of the world, with Australian buyers (who were not present, instead having local agents acting on their behalf) accounting for at least six of the top 10 lots. Goffs wisely opted to hold its much smaller Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale online. Demand was pleasingly strong for horses with good form, with two lots breaking the €100,000 (one being bought for NH racing in England and the other for flat racing in Australia).

Trade for national hunt stores in the summer painted a similar picture, with just a slight deterioration in figures. This was despite the added complication of some of the leading jumping owners (most obviously Gigginstown) cutting back. Happily, NH racing seems to retain its appeal however things are going, with Cheveley Park Stud a notable example of a major ownership enterprise expanding its jumping interests.

Overall, it is fair to say that the bloodstock market in 2020 did not show the full extent of the depression which one might have feared. Whether this fortunate state of affairs will continue in 2021 is, of course, another matter.

TATTERSALLS FEBRUARY MIXED SALE
Year Cat'd Offrd Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2016 387 306 251 2,718,800 10,832 5,000
2017 488 377 338 5,735,200 16,96 8,000
2018 446 360 299 8,037,150 26,880 7,000
2019 464 346 294 3,139,100 10,677 5,000
2020 401 305 264 3,260,300 12,350 6,500
TATTERSALLS CRAVEN BREEZE-UP SALE
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2016 140 107 78 8,641,500 110,788 77,500
2017 152 124 98 14,120,000 144,082 110,000
2018 172 42 94 13,313,500 141,63 75,000
2019 147 109 85 10,343,000 121,682 85,000
2020* 154 84 70 6,649,500 94,993 61,000

*Held in June 

GOFFS UK DONCASTER BREEZE-UP SALE
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (£)
2016 149 110 3,605,750 32,780 22,000
2017 134 120 5,408,000 45,067 30,000
2018 182 138 5,528,000 40,058 25,500
2019 130 111 5,078,250 45,750 26,000
2020* 176 153 12,980,100 84,937 50,000

*Held in July with Arqana horses added to catalogue

GORESBRIDGE BREEZE-UP SALE
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average (€)
2016 256 235 191 5,868,000 30,723
2017 237 207 177 6,100,500 34,466
2018 246 204 170 5,054,900 29,735
2019 225 196 179 5,010,500 27,992
2020* 254 147 125 3,816,490 21,978

*Held in July in Newmarket, figures converted to euros

TATTERSALLS JULY MIXED SALE
Year Cat'd Offrd Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2016 877 648 572 12,311,329 21,523 10,000
2017 914 648 574 14,691,700 25,595 12,000
2018 922 645 562 12,074,300 21,485 10,000
2019 910 578 535 12,748,800 23,830 12,000
2020 572 344 330 5,940,900 18,003 10,000
TATTERSALLS AUGUST MIXED SALE
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2020 775 561 510 8,430,000 16,530 9,000

TATTERSALLS OCTOBER YEARLINGS BOOK 1
Year Cat'd Offrd Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2016 551 493 386 88,038,000 228,078 130,000
2017 502 442 349 102,290,000 293,095 165,000
2018 519 456 392 106,503,000 271,691 167,500
2019 552 483 397 102,429,000 258,008 150,000
2020 548 446 369 82,385,000 223,266 130,000
TATTERSALLS OCTOBER YEARLINGS BOOK 2
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2016 774 708 594 33,823,500 65,359 50,000
2017 805 743 613 48,022,000 78,339 55,000
2018 804 736 631 48,458,500 76,796 55,000
2019 791 730 620 48,499,000 78,224 55,500
2020 816 747 637 48,362,500 75,922 50,000
TATTERSALLS OCTOBER YEARLINGS BOOK 3
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2016 474 420 326 5,844,300 17,927 13,000
2017 662 596 473 7,839,450 16,574 11,000
2018 652 587 472 7,590,800 16,082 10,000
2019 602 545 434 7,007,900 16,147 10,000
2020 605 538 459 7,367,200 16,051 11,000
TATTERSALLS OCTOBER YEARLINGS BOOK 4
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (Gns)
2016 86 67 43 141,900 3,300 2,500
2017 48 38 26 96,900 3,727 3,250
2018 123 103 57 179,100 3,142 2,000
2019 137 95 51 219,700 4,308 2,200
2020 83 65 42 153,500 3,655 2,500
GOFFS ORBY YEARLINGS
Year OFFRD SOLD AGGREGATE Average  Median (€)
2016 431 363 39,925,000 109,986 67,000
2017 433 373 40,702,500 109,122 65,000
2018 369 328 43,497,000 132,613 80,000
2019 429 364 42,927,000 117,933 65,000
2020* 389 311 23,382,160 75,184 51,980

*Held in Doncaster, figures converted to euros

GOFFS SPORTSMAN’S YEARLINGS
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 293 237 4,637,000 19,565 15,000
2017 274 232 4,834,500 20,838 16,000
2018 268 228 4,325,500 18,971 15,000
2019 360 283 4,854,900 17,115 13,000
2020* 273 185 2,730,499 14,759 11,059

*Held in Doncaster, figures converted to euros

TATTERSALLS IRELAND FAIRYHOUSE SEPTEMBER YEARLINGS
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 533 501 413 10,251,700 24,963 19,000
2017 487 448 401 11,451,000 28,556 23,000
2018 560 526 411 10,488,000 25,518 20,000
2019 480 451 388 9,415,500 24,267 20,000
2020* 447 396 333 8,009,140 24,051 17,582

*Held in Newmarket, figures converted to euros

GOFFS UK DONCASTER PREMIER YEARLINGS
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (£)
2016 454 393 17,455,000 44,078 34,000
2017 443 391 19,822,750 50,698 37,000
2018 473 420 19,066,500 45,396 35,000
2019 448 397 18,468,000 46,519 35,000
2020 403 339 11,528,500 34,007 27,000
GOFFS UK DONCASTER SILVER YEARLINGS
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (£)
2016 159 114 1,256,500 11,022 7,000
2017 137 120 1,411,500 11,763 10,000
2018 166 136 1,385,400 10,187 8,250
2019 160 104 841,800 8,094 5,500
2020* 229 160 786,400 4,915 3,000

*Sale merged with Goffs UK’s Autumn Sale in October

ARQANA (DEAUVILLE) AUGUST YEARLING SALE (PART 1)
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 340 261 39,828,000 152,598 110,000
2017 305 231 38,250,500 165,587 110,000
2018 316 230 36,786,000 159,939 107,500
2019 304 228 42,829,000 187,846 125,000
2020* 416 308 37,457,500 121,615 70,000

*Held in September as Vente de Selection, including some of the Part 2 yearlings

ARQANA (DEAUVILLE) AUGUST YEARLING SALE (PART 2)
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 118 88 3,489,000 39,648 33,000
2017 130 107 4,196,500 39,220 30,000
2018 132 107 3,534,000 33,028 27,000
2019 139 110 4,080,000 37,091 31,000

 2020 – reduced version of sale incorporated into Vente de Selection

ARQANA (DEAUVILLE) OCTOBER YEARLING SALE
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 578 460 19,388,000 42,148 30,000
2017 606 491 20,562,500 41,879 27,000
2018 571 452 18,236,000 40,345 26,000
2019 563 417 17,181,000 41,201 25,000
2020* 710 578 18,062,000 31,249 20,000

*Incorporating Osarus’ La Teste September Yearling Sale

OSARUS (LA TESTE) SEPTEMBER YEARLING SALE
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (€)
2016 293 214 3,573,000 18,816 15,000
2017 256 201 4,001,000 21,674 16,000
2018 258 212 4,457,500 22,946 17,000
2019 258 201 4,097,000 21,011 17,000

2020 merged with Arqana’s October Yearling Sale

TATTERSALLS AUTUMN HORSES-IN-TRAINING
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (GNS)
2016 1,516 1,032 949 25,137,100 26,488 13,500
2017 1,762 1,255 1,065 27,282,200 25,617 11,000
2018 1,644 1,181 1,049 26,853,500 25,599 12,000
2019 1,562 1,097 985 25,393,400 25,780 12,000
2020 1,625 1,105 971 21,735,100 22,384 9,000
GOFFS LAND ROVER SALE PART 1
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (GNS)
2016 316 275 9,413,500 34,231 28,000
2017 214 199 8,610,000 43,226 38,000
2018 257 216 10,452,000 48,389 38,000
2019 267 242 11,709,500 48,386 45,000
2020 220 189 7,956,500 42,098 36,000
GOFFS LANDROVER SALE PART 2
Year OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (GNS)
2016 218 174 2,385,100 13,707 11,250
2017 220 181 3,653,500 20,185 16,000
2018 243 177 3,118,000 17,616 15,000
2019 221 177 3,602,500 20,353 17,000
2020 202 117 1,850,000 15,812 14,000
TATTERSALLS IRELAND DERBY SALE
Year CAT'D OFFRD Sold Aggregate Average  Median (GNS)
2016 426 367 300 14,260,500 47,535 36,000
2017 460 405 343 17,755,500 51,765 43,000
2018 467 406 347 17,890,000 51,558 42,000
2019 445 409 338 17,093,500 50,572 42,000
2020 466 315 220 9,015,700 40,980 32,000