Sales turnover in Ireland falls by eight per cent during challenging 2018

A closer examination of Horse Racing Ireland's figures for the Irish thoroughbred industry in 2018 - led by a rise in the number of new owners and horses in training, as well as an increase in attendance figures - shows all is not rosy in the garden.

For the first time in nine years, sales turnover in Ireland declined, falling by eight per cent from €175.6 million to €161.5m.

The governing body suggested that bloodstock sales "struggled to keep pace with recent strong returns" and that the uncertainty created by Brexit had had a negative impact on investment.

The increasingly polarised state of the market throughout the year is another factor, with vendors at the lower end having struggled to move on stock.

Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby was among those to express concerns over the health of the market during 2018, having said after the Autumn Yearling Sale: "How much the uncertainty or threat of Brexit is contributing is anyone's guess as, like everyone, we are so sick of the lack of clarity in this connection but there is no doubt that it appears the supply-demand ratio is out of kilter again."

It was not only the domestic market that suffered in 2018, as total receipts for Irish-bred stock sold abroad at public auction also dropped, falling by two per cent from from €268.1m to €263.1m.

HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh said: "While the market for Irish-bred National Hunt horses made gains again in 2018 and showed a three per cent increase, the 2018 sales cycle was a very challenging one for vendors, particularly those selling Flat horses.

"It meant that the gains made in 2017 across the spectrum of sales were reversed in 2018, with the uncertainty created by Brexit the biggest of a number of factors."

However, it was not all doom and gloom during 2018. With a lack of prize-money often cited as a barrier to new investment, breeders and vendors will have welcomed the sizeable increase in Irish prize-money, which was up four per cent from €61.1m to €63.5m.

New markets also became available to vendors of Irish-bred stock, with the number of countries to which Irish-foaled horses were sold increasing from 31 to 33.

Kavanagh said: "Encouragingly, the attraction of Irish-foaled horses to international buyers was confirmed with Irish-foaled horses sold through auction exported to 33 countries. This is a tribute to the quality of the Irish horse and its global reputation for excellence."

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