'This year I really pushed the boat out and got a pair of hash browns too'

Monday

After a week of Book 1 and a weekend of Book 2 inspections, it’s day eight in bloodstock’s answer to the Big Brother house: Tattersalls during the October Yearling Sale. Entering into Book 2 means the prices get smaller, albeit only slightly, and the days get longer, sometimes considerably so given there are 821 lots catalogued over three sessions.

By this stage of the season I’ve reported on yearling sales in Deauville, Doncaster, La Teste-de-Buch, Baden-Baden, Newmarket, Kildare and Newmarket again. I’ve racked up thousands of miles in travel and God only knows how many words I’ve filed. This also means I’ve heard all the old sales ring cliches a countless number of times.

It’s all gotten a bit meta lately when a buyer tells the press their purchase “ticks all the boxes” as the comment is usually followed by an eye roll or a slightly embarrassed apology from the person who’s delivered the well-worn trope.