Buyers break 200 million guineas mark as Tattersalls hails ‘breathtaking’ October Yearling Sale trade

A “breathtaking” renewal of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale concluded on Friday evening with the key market metrics having reached unprecedented highs. 

Perhaps the most eye-catching statistic was the combined turnover generated by Books 1 to 4. Aggregate sales rose by 29 per cent year-on-year to hit 204,561,700gns, the first time the 200 million mark has been broken in the auction’s history. 

The average price across the eight sessions was 144,465gns, an increase of 39 per cent compared to 2023 and a 15 per cent gain on the previous high set in 2022. The median was up 12 points against 12 months ago, equalling the benchmark of 58,000gns first posted in 2022. 

These impressive returns were achieved despite a significantly smaller offering. The catalogue was trimmed by 237 lots (down 11 per cent) compared to last year, and in turn 1,654 yearlings, 208 less than in 2023, came under the hammer.

Of those, 1,416 found a buyer for a rock solid clearance rate of 86 per cent, which was a noticeable improvement on the 82 per cent recorded the previous year. 

The market was topped by the Frankel filly out of Royal Ascot winner Aljazzi, who, at 4,400,000gns, was the most expensive recruit among Amo Racing’s remarkable haul. 

Edmond Mahony: "the appetite for quality yearlings has been truly global"Credit: Edward Whitaker

At the end of selling on Friday, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said in his post-sales address: “I suspect that the 2024 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale will be remembered for a very long time. From the moment the buyers began to descend on Park Paddocks in advance of Book 1 it felt as if something out of the ordinary was beginning to unfold, but nevertheless, not even the most incurable optimist would have predicted that in a period of two weeks more than 200 million guineas would be spent on yearlings at Tattersalls.

“The sustained demand has been breathtaking and the fact that records continued to fall throughout Books 1, 2 and 3 of the October Yearling Sale has, in the current climate, been a very welcome boost for the wider European Bloodstock industry. Amongst the numerous extraordinary figures perhaps the most remarkable statistic is that after an unprecedented Book 1 clearance rate of 88 per cent, Book 2 produced three consecutive sessions which achieved clearance rates of 90 per cent or higher and day 1 of Book 3 had a clearance rate of 88 per cent. 

“Only yearling sales of the very highest quality produce such impressive returns and we must pay tribute to the breeders and consignors from Britain, Ireland and further afield whose consistent support of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale brings the buyers to Park Paddocks and Newmarket in such huge numbers year after year, and more than ever in 2024.

“Not every sector of the market has been as robust as we would all like, but the appetite for quality yearlings has been truly global and it has been particularly rewarding to have welcomed so many new buyers from all over the world in the course of the past two weeks alongside those whose support has long been a feature of so many sales at Tattersalls. Between them all they have demonstrated not only the enduring international appeal of the sport of horse racing, but also that Tattersalls in October remains unrivalled as a source of the finest yearlings to be found in Europe.”

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