Parts one and two combined produced a turnover of 76.6 million gns – a big increase on last year 65.6 million gns gross when over 500 more yearlings were catalogued – and just passed the 2003 record figures.

"Trade has been little short of phenomenal this week, and it has been a genuine pleasure to see such a wide cross section of vendors so handsomely rewarded not only at Part 2 of our October Yearling Sale, but also last week at Part One," said Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony.

"The vendors -- British, Irish and from further afield -- are the key to the success of our yearling sales. They have presented us with the cream of the European yearling crop, and the buyers have responded with unrelenting demand over the last two weeks.

"The format changes have also played a vital part," Mahony added. "At the end of last year, we said that we felt it would be important to manage the numbers in a manner which placed less strain on the market, and I think we have achieved that in both Parts 1 and 2 of the October Yearling Sales. The past two weeks mean that we, and the whole industry, can look forward with a degree of confidence to the remaining 2005 sales at Park Paddocks."

Friday's catalogue was the least strong of the week, but it was a memorable day for John Deer's Chepstow-based Oakgrove Stud, which topped the day with a first-crop Kyllachy (GB) (Pivotal) colt who made 76,000gns.

Buyer James Delahooke reported: "He's for an existing client, but I don't know where he'll be trained. I thought he was the nicest colt here tonight."