Cover image courtesy of Zuzanna Lupa photography

Courtesy of TDN Europe

At A Glance

>> The third-day clearance rate of 79 per cent outpointed Part I’s 70.5 per cent clearance rate, with vendors appearing to set reasonable reserves.

>> Part II returned an average of €52,433 (AU$85,234) and a median of €43,000 (AU$69,917) for 142 sold at an aggregate of €7,445,500 (AU$12,104,848).

>> Ecurie des Monceaux made it nine consecutive years as the leading vendor at Arqana’s flagship yearling sale with 32 lots sold for €10,682,000 (AU$17,371,000) at an average of €333,813 (AU$542,777) .

>> Dubawi (Ire) was the leading stallion with four lots sold for €3,480,000 (AU$5,657,762) at an average of €870,000 (AU$1,414,440).

>> Almanzor (Fr) was the sale’s leading first-crop sire by average with three or more sold, with 19 sold at an average of €126,789 (AU$2016,158).

>> Oliver St Lawrence was the leading buyer outlaying €3,530,000 (AU$5,740,464) on five lots at an average of €706,000 (AU$1,147,951) .

Pace steadies

Arqana’s Deauville Select Yearling Sale drew to a close with its Part II session, where trade settled to a more workmanlike pace following the frenzy of bluebloods that went through the ring earlier in the week.

The third-day clearance rate of 79 per cent outpointed Part I’s 70.5 per cent clearance rate, with vendors appearing to set reasonable reserves. Part II returned an average of €52,433 (AU$85,234) and a median of €43,000 (AU$69,917) for 142 sold for an aggregate of €7,445,500 (AU$12,104,848).

The comparable third day of Arqana’s August yearling sale last year saw 72 per cent of the 161 offered sold at an average of €87,362 (AU$142,050) and a median of €68,000 (AU$110,547), with turnover of €10,134,000 (AU$16,479,849).

Cumulatively, the Deauville Select Sale saw 416 yearlings go through the ring with 310 finding new homes. The aggregate was €37,697,500 (AU$61,303,446), the average €121,605 (AU$197,692) and the median €70,000 (AU$113,798).

At last year’s Arqana August Sale, 228 yearlings were sold over the three days from 304 offered for a record aggregate of €42,789,000 (AU$69,557,539). The average and median of €187,671 (AU$305,170) and €125,000 (AU$203,274) 12 months ago were both also records.

Ecurie des Monceaux made it nine consecutive years as leading vendor at Arqana’s flagship yearling sale and they struck late on Friday to provide the session-topping filly in the form of a daughter of Siyouni (Fr) sold to Deauville-based trainer Yann Barberot for €290,000 (AU$471,538) on behalf of owner Olivier Thomas of Normandie Spirit.

The filly is the fourth foal out of the unraced Special Gift (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), herself a half-sister to stakes winners Do The Honours (Fr) (Highest Honor {Fr}) and Seba (Fr) (Alzao {USA}) and from the extended family of the blue hen mare Cassandra Go (Ire). Siyouni had 19 yearlings sell over the three days for an average of €201,053 (AU$326,951).

“She’s a lovely filly that’s a real Siyouni,” said Barberot. “She walks well and is from a very current family. We saw her at the stud with Olivier Thomas, Gitte and Philippe Allaire and we liked her a lot. We didn’t think she would be so expensive but she was our favourite.”

Almanzor top first-season sire

Almanzor’s (Fr) first-crop yearlings had found favour during Part I of the sale earlier in the week and that trend continued on Friday when the Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion had three sell for six figures.

He was the Sale’s leading first-crop sire by average with three or more sold, with 19 sold at an average of €126,789 (AU$2016,158).

Leading the way for Almanzor was a half-brother to the G3 Prix Djebel winner Dice Roll (Fr) (Showcasing {GB}) offered by Haras d’Etreham, Almanzor’s Northern Hemisphere base.

He was bought by Broadhurst Agency for €110,000 (AU$178,880) while Haras de la Louviere sold a granddaughter of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Yesterday (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells {USA}) to Oceanic Bloodstock for €105,000 (AU$170,700).

Prime Equestrian went to €100,000 (AU$162,620) for a filly related to Friday’s G2 Doncaster Cup winner Spanish Mission (USA) (Noble Mission {GB}).

Another first-season sire to crack six figures on Friday was Coolmore’s Churchill (Ire), whose filly from Ecurie des Monceaux, sold to Yann Barberot for €100,000 (AU$162,620).

The bay is the third foal from her dam, a half-sister to five-time Group 1 winner Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}). That price was matched by a first-crop daughter of G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Zarak (Fr) in the form of Haras des Capucines’s granddaughter of Group 3 winner Albisola (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), who was bought by Jean-Claude Rouget.

Buyers keen on Bassett

Almanzor’s sire Wootton Bassett (GB) has recently left France to stand at Coolmore in Ireland, but the legacy of the successful first half of his stud career was felt keenly at Arqana on Friday as two of his sons were among the three most expensive yearlings of the final session of the Select Sale.

His top lot, already named Samos (Fr) was for a few hours the session leader, but eventually settled for the second spot on the leaderboard at €180,000 (AU$292,772). He is out of an unraced War Front (USA) half-sister to G1 Moyglare Stud S. winner Cursory Glance (USA) (Distorted Humor {USA}).

“He looks like he could be a really nice, sharp 2-year-old,” said Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International who made a determined effort for the colt on behalf of Al Shaqab Racing.

“I’ve had some luck with the stallion before, as we bought Wooded, who is running on Sunday in the G3 Qatar Prix de Petit Couvert for Francis Graffard, so we were happy to invest in his stock again. Jean-Claude Rouget is keen to train the colt but Sheikh Joaan will decide that later.”

The co-third-top lot of the final day was a colt from the farm that made the stallion, Haras d’Etreham, and he was sold to Coolmore through Laurent Benoit of Broadhurst Agency for €140,000 (AU$227,667). He is out of the winning 2-year-old Mezzo Mezzo (Fr) (Mount Nelson {GB}).

“He will be trained by Andre Fabre, who goes right back with Wootton Bassett to his grandsire Zafonic, but has not yet trained any of his offspring,” Benoit said.

“We had a good look at all of them and this was our first choice in the sale. He’s a strong colt from a very good farm and he seems to have a very good mind, like the sire.”

Also among those in demand by the stallion on Friday was Lot 300, a filly out of the Listed-placed Raven’s Pass (USA) mare Alta Stima (Ire). Offered by the Channel Consignment, she was bought for €100,000 (AU$162,620) on behalf of Ecurie Melanie by Jean-Michel Lefebvre.

“We really fell in love with her,” said the trainer. “She looks precocious and could make a nice 2-year-old. We wanted a daughter of Wootton Bassett and now we have one.”

Kodiac colt to Ireland

On the day that Kodiac (GB) was represented by another juvenile Group-race winner in the G2 Flying Childers S. victor Ubettabelieveit (Ire), Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland picked up one of the early highlights of the day when going to €140,000 (AU$227,653) for the penultimate yearling by the Tally-Ho Stud stallion in the sale.

The half-brother to King Power Racing’s useful Group 3-winning stayer Alounak (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) looks an earlier type, and he will head first to Ireland to be broken in before a trainer is decided upon.

“I’ve bought him for a Middle Eastern client who has horses in Britain, France and Ireland. He was a really good physical specimen by a stallion who has had a really good year and Danehill has worked really well with this family before,” Donohoe said.

The influences to which he refers are the three-parts siblings to the colt’s dam Awe Struck (GB) (Rail Link {GB}). While she was unraced herself, she is a sister to three stakes winners by Dansili (GB): G1 Matron S. heroine Emulous (GB), G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron winner First Sitting (GB) and the Listed-winning juvenile Daring Diva (GB).

Kodiac’s final yearling through the ring at this sale also figured among the top lots of the day, Alain Decrion and Mandore International went to €130,000 (AU$211,392) for the first foal out of the Rip Van Winkle (Ire) mare Purple Magic (GB), who won four times at two and three and was fourth in the Listed Beckford Fillies’ S.

Leagues apart

Different League (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}), the filly that sparked a thousand parties, was picked up for just €8000 (AU$13,000) by Con Marnane as a foal at Arqana. Thanks to her victory in the G3 Albany S. and two placed finishes at Group 1 level, Different League’s full sister was always likely to be a much more expensive acquisition and Federico Barberini eventually got the upper hand in the chase for the daughter of Danseuse Corse (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) at €120,000 (AU$195,095).

The co-breeder of the filly, Jean-Pierre Le Hegarat, bought Danseuse Corse at the same Arqana December Sale at which Different League was offered as a foal and, at €6000 (AU$9755), she fetched even less than her subsequent celebrated daughter. Le Hegarat bred the yearling in partnership with Eric L’Hermite of Haras de Grandcamp, which is also home to Dabirsim (Fr).

Different League was returned to the ring at the end of her juvenile season and was sold on to White Birch Farm and Coolmore for 1.5 million gns (AU$2,865,000). Her first foal is a colt by Galileo (Ire).

The Al Shaqab team gathered around Nicolas de Watrigant as he bid on the daughter of Siyouni with a strong family behind her, and looked delighted to have secured the deal at €100,000 (AU$162,620).

Consigned by Ecurie des Monceaux for British breeders Trevor and Libby Harris of Lordship Stud, the filly is the second foal of Fleeting Dream (Ire) (Dream Ahead {USA}), a half-sister to G1 Haycock Sprint Cup winner G Force (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) and the G3 Prix Miesque winner Louvain (Fr) (Sinndar {Ire}).

With 20 horses bought through the three days, Jean-Claude Rouget has been the busiest buyer on the sales ground and on Friday he gave €135,000 (AU$219,468) for a first-crop son of the Haras de la Have Neuve freshman sire Whitecliffsofdover (USA).

The sole representative for the son of War Front (USA) in the catalogue was sold by the stud which stands the stallion and is a half-brother to the Listed Prix Californie winner Hurricane (Fr) (Hurricane Cat {Fr}) and to fellow Listed winner Francesco Bere (Fr) (Peer Gynt {Jpn}), both of whom also represent Have Neuve sires.