yearling sales
Financial pressures
Some yearling sales this autumn did well yet others were very difficult, writes Jocelyn de Moubay. He argues that the issues are more involved
than mere market correction – recent inflationary pressures have had a significant influence, and the rise in leading stallion fees over the last seven years has hit on profitability. However, many commercial breeders in France have still done very well recently, and it is not just because of premiums
Major European sales % change in 2023 compared with 2019
Tattersalls 1 & 2
-6.40
BBAG Sept
-7.30
Arqana A + V2+ O
+18.0
Goffs Orby
+14.0
Goffs Premier
-17.0
Combined
0.60
T
HERE WERE MOMENTS during the European yearling sales season when it may have felt as if the good times were still rolling, there were individuals who made seven-figure sums at Arqana, Goffs and Tattersalls, However, this year, all involved realised that something has changed since the pre-Covid years of plenty. At the Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale, 391 yearlings were sold for a total of 95.4 million guineas, down by 25 per cent from 2022’s record sale. After the event we were told that this fall was only to be expected, the 2022 sale had been an exceptional one and it was normal the market should return to an earlier level. This would have been a more convincing argument if it had been put forward by anybody before the sale started, although at the same time it is obviously true that the $18 million spent by Richard Knight at the 2022 sales had a significant effect on the overall market.
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The October Book 1 top lot: the son of Frankel was sold by Hascombe and Valiant Stud for 2,000,000gns to MV Magnier and White Birch Farm (Lot 266) Photo: Alisha Meeder | Tattersalls
