'The consensus is that the quality of stock on offer on Wednesday is better'

There were highlights on Tuesday, particularly when one of the early lots, a Night Of Thunder colt, made €180,000 when bought by Anthony Stroud for Godolphin.

I was on the rostrum for him and I'd thought he might reach €100,000, so to top the session was a nice surprise.

I saw Anthony Stroud walk into the ring and James Tate threw in a few bids and Kevin Ross was there too, so there were a lot of people involved.

The easiest thing as an auctioneer is when people are bidding at you, then it becomes a case of trying to assess how far you can take it and what kind of increments you need to move up in to keep everyone involved for as long as possible.

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With most aspects of auctioneering, it's a case of judging the individual bidding - people can always surprise you though. When you're on the rostrum it's about finding the compromise between what the bidder wants to bid and what you want to take - it's finding the happy medium.

In Europe there's a certain style of auctioneering that involves a lot of engagement with the potential purchaser, there's an emphasis on the interaction.

In the States it's more rapid - it's an impressive way of doing it, no doubt, and it makes getting through the horses quicker - but it's less personable and you don't get the theatre you get here in Europe.

Sometimes you get a chance to slow it down and get personal with a potential purchaser, although you're always conscious of overstepping the mark as it's a fine balance.

Despite that early highlight conditions on Tuesday were probably a bit more challenging than last year. What I found was that if you had something that was nice you got really well paid, but if you had something the market didn't really want it became more of a struggle.

When a horse comes into the ring and it's clear nobody wants it, it makes the job challenging. We're all used to it though.

The general consensus is that the quality of stock on offer on Wednesday is better. Funnily enough at the sales I've been to this year, the first day has started on a quieter note compared to the second day, so we're hopeful trade will pick up.

I'm looking forward to selling the brother to Adaay (Lot 491) and the half-brother to Lady Kaya (475). I actually do the roster for who auctioneers which lots at this sale, although I assure you it's just luck of the draw who gets what!

More Tattersalls Ireland September Sale stories:

'I'd be full of nerves and trepidation prior to any auction'

Night Of Thunder colt steals the show on day one