2021 Craven Sale hard act to follow but there should be more treasure to mine

Last year's Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale seemed like a decidedly solid event at the time, with all key market indices holding up well in the prevailing conditions and a lively trade illustrated by a clearance rate of 88 per cent.

But when faced with the real acid test, namely the two-year-olds who came under the hammer reaching the racecourse, subsequent events showed that the 2021 Craven Sale had been something of a vintage renewal.

Four stakes winners emerged from last year's event, most notably the European champion two-year-old Native Trail, whose unbeaten four-race juvenile campaign included comfortable successes in two prestigious Group 1 contests, the National and Dewhurst Stakes.