'We're expecting a selective sale' - Beeby braced for difficult Autumn auction

Vendors will be holding their breath ahead of the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale, which begins its two-day run at Kildare Paddocks on Monday, with the auction coming at a time when demand away from the upper end of the market has been in markedly short supply.

A total of 579 commercially bred yearlings have been catalogued, up from 497 at the corresponding Open Yearling Sale 12 months ago, where 313 lots sold at a clearance rate of 72 per cent, for an aggregate of €2,184,800, an average of €6,980 and a median of €4,700.

Anxiety will have been intensified with the news that Zhang Yuesheng - who races under the YuLong Investments banner - will not be attending the sale, having been the leading spender at the previous two renewals.

View full Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale catalogue

With trying economic conditions compounded by the spectre of Brexit and poor levels of prize-money across Britain and Ireland, Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby was pragmatic in his assessment of what could be in store over the coming days.

"We're expecting a selective sale as we've seen what the market has been like so far this autumn," he said, before expanding on the open policy that led to the increased catalogue.

"We were very selective when it came to the Orby and the Sportsman sales, we kept those catalogues to a specific number. But our view is that we're here to provide a service to the breeders, therefore we didn't want to leave a farm and say we couldn't help.

"We exist to serve and it's up to us to provide a marketplace that's as good as we can possibly make it, and this is a sale that if people wanted to come to it, we'd provide that marketplace for them."

Despite the absence of one high-profile buyer, Beeby was quick to highlight the efforts that had been made to draw in as many other potential purchasers to assess the catalogue, which includes, among others, the progeny of Camacho, Dandy Man, Free Eagle and No Nay Never.

Goffs: 579 yearlings are catalogued for the two-day Autumn SaleCredit: Patrick McCann

"The Goffs team of agents and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing have done sterling work in appealing to overseas buyers," he said. "We're expecting an influx of people from Eastern Europe, Italy and Scandinavia and maybe one or two from the Far East.

"We've been just as proactive at promoting this sale to buyers as we were with the Orby and Sportsman sales. We've spent a lot of time, effort and money on getting people to this sale. It isn't just a case of putting out the catalogue and sitting back and hoping. A lot goes into it."

Under the weight of expanded foal crops, and with a paucity of demand, trade has proved tough at other non-select sales throughout the year.

The Goffs UK Autumn Sale produced a clearance rate of just 46 per cent, with 66 out of 143 offered yearlings selling for an aggregate of £343,100, an average of £5,200 and a median of just £3,000.

Earlier in the year Part Two of the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale brought a clearance rate of 66 per cent, with 172 of 259 offered lots having changed hands for turnover of €1,241,300, an average of €7,215 and a median of €5,000.

With that sort of precedent in place, Beeby did not seek to shy away from the realities of the lower tiers of the market.

"I'm under no illusions that it will probably be a challenging couple of days," he said. "But our challenge is to outperform the market as best we can. If it's hard work, it's hard work, but at least we're providing a marketplace for the people who want us to provide one."

The Autumn Yearling Sale begins on Monday, with sessions staring at 10am on both days, and will be followed on Wednesday by the Autumn Horses in Training Sale, which begins at midday and features 132 form horses.

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