Buyer demand fails to keep up with supply at yearling sales

Auction house end-of-sale statements are often full of bluster but the one Goffs issued at the end of its Sportsman's Sale on Friday contained a disconcertingly honest line that ought to make breeders sit up and take notice.

Recognising the increased number of young horses on the ground has led to falling clearance rates in the middle to lower market, the company's chief executive Henry Beeby said: "We exist to create a market place for those who choose our sales but cannot necessarily source the numbers of buyers required to service a growing foal crop."

Goffs, Irish Thoroughbred Marketing and agents could hardly be faulted for not already doing their best to attract buyers - see the more than 60 lots sold to Chinese clients at the Sportsman's Sale this week - yet their efforts are still unable to keep up with the increased flow of horses coming onto the market.