Cover image courtesy of Arqana
At A Glance
The second session of the Arqana August Yearling Sale saw another huge year-on-year rise in aggregate to €20,467,000 (AU$3,3421,075) in 2026, up 36% on the same session last year.
The 2026 average for the session was €20,467,000 (AU$3,3421,075), up 30% from 2025. The median was down 7% at €162,500 (AU$265,350).
Combining the Saturday and Sunday sessions, the 2026 aggregate has climbed 29% from 2025 to €34,433,000 (AU$56,226,506) and the average also by 20% to €286,942 (AU$468,555).
The top lot was a €2.4 million (AU$3.92 million) Wootton Bassett colt, a full brother to multiple Group winner Topgear, who was bought by Godolphin.
Godolphin is the leading buyer at Arqana August after the first two sessions, spending €9,950,000 (AU$16,247,603) for a total of six yearlings bought, which equates to 29% of the turnover so far.
First crop sire Chaldean, who shuttles to Cambridge Stud, had a top lot of €650,000 (AU$1.06 million) for a filly bought by Amanda Skiffington on behalf of Fiona Carmichael. Chaldean leads the freshman sires with an average of €275,000 (AU$449,054) across the first two sessions.
Godolphin prevails for €2.4 million Wootton Bassett colt
In the bloodstock world, it is as timeless as the sunrise and sunset: a proper old-fashioned bidding war between Godolphin and Coolmore.
And by the time the sun had set on one of the latest exchanges, a colt by Wootton Bassett (Lot 82) had plastered a smile on the face of his breeder Florent Couturier, reduced consignor Guillaume Garcon to tears, and given the jampacked sales ring at Arqana a moment of pure theatre when being sold to Godolphin for €2.4 million (AU$3.92 million).
The audience didn't have to wait long for such entertainment, either, as the full brother to the multiple Group winner Topgear was just the second lot in the ring as the August Sale was reignited on Sunday evening.
An emotional Guillaume Garcon, who consigns under the name of Haras de l'Hotellerie with his father Jean-Pierre, was fighting back tears as he hugged members of his team and said, “That's a very big moment. To be honest, I was expecting that he would make not more than a million but, you know, it's all thanks to Coolmore and the big battle with Godolphin – the two big players.
“We consigned him for Haras des Bois Carrouges, Florent Couturier and his wife. They are very good breeders and they have trusted us since the beginning.”
Couturier was equally surprised at such a result. “He is obviously a very nice colt,” he said. “But I'm a bit realistic and I was hoping for something in the range of €450,000 to €600,000-plus, if everything was going well. But the fight between Coolmore and Sheikh Mohammed is the ideal configuration if you want to sell a horse, and I was surprised that they went that far. But I'm very happy.
“The fight between Coolmore and Sheikh Mohammed is the ideal configuration if you want to sell a horse, and I was surprised that they went that far.” - Florent Couturier
He continued, “It's very important when you're a breeder (that the progeny goes to a good trainer). You've done part of the job, but you pass the gauntlet to somebody else. If it's a good trainer, that's good.”
The colt's dam is the Giant's Causeway mare Miss Lech, a winning half-sister to G2 Strub Stakes winner Guilt Trip (Pulpit). Her current 2-year-old, a filly by St Mark's Basilica named Pietradolce, is in training for the breeder with Josephine Soudan.
Couturier explained, “I bought this mare in America. Initially, I was not very lucky with her – she was barren three times. But she produced some winners and, of course, Topgear was a very good racehorse. Unfortunately he had feet problems, and that limited his achievements. But he was a very good horse – a very good-looking horse.
"This one is smaller than Topgear, with perhaps less bone, but he is very well-balanced and has a good movement. I think he's a good colt.”
The breeder added that Miss Lech now has a Siyouni filly foal on the ground and is in foal to Delacroix.
Anthony Stroud, who was acting on behalf of Godolphin, said of the colt, “He's a lively, very good mover and you've got to go for the ones you really like. Of course, it is a great deal of money but I have huge respect for Coolmore, who were bidding on him, and they know what they are looking at when they are buying Wootton Bassetts.”
“He's (Lot 82) a lively, very good mover and you've got to go for the ones you really like.” - Anthony Stroud
Anthony Stroud | Image courtesy of Arqana
All told, the figures for the Sunday session climbed dramatically. Along with the 36% rise in the aggregate to €20,467,000 (AU$3,3421,075), the average was up 30% to €319,797 (AU$522,205) and the median decreased 7% to €162,500 (AU$265,350). Combining the Saturday and Sunday sessions, the aggregate has climbed 29% to €34,433,000 (AU$56,226,506) and the average also by 20% to €286,942 (AU$468,555).
Round 2: Stroud strikes again for Frankel colt
A Frankel colt (Lot 149) bred on the same cross as this year's Oaks winner Thundering On and consigned by Baroda Stud was the second yearling of the evening to surpass the €2 million mark when joining the list of Godolphin purchases at €2.3 million (AU$3.76 million). Once again, the underbidder to Godolphin buyer Anthony Stroud was Coolmore's MV Magnier, who left the ring shaking his head.
“Stating the obvious, he's by Frankel, who is a fantastic stallion, and is out of a winning Night Of Thunder mare. It's the same cross as Thundering On so it works well,” said Stroud, who manages Thundering On for her owner-breeder Shapoor Mistry.
“He comes from Longview Stud, which produces a lot of winners – he will be a mile-and-a-half horse and is what we are looking for. He will complement what we have at home.”
“He (Lot 149) will be a mile-and-a-half horse and is what we are looking for.” - Anthony Stroud
At home – or in fact in France with Andre and Lavinia Fabre – Godolphin also has this colt's full brother Critical Thinker, a Book 1 purchase from Tattersalls last year for 600,000gns (AU$1.2 million). Their dam is the five-time winner Rumbles Of Thunder (Night Of Thunder), whose black-type wins came in the G3 Give Thanks Stakes and Listed Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes. Down the page, her third dam is the G1 Kentucky Oaks winner White Star Line (Saddlers' Hall).
David Cox of Baroda Stud said of Lot 149, “He was beautifully prepped by (breeder) Longview Stud. He never put a foot wrong from when he got here. Even in the back ring there, before he went into the ring, there were a few horses acting up but he was just cool as.
“He moved brilliantly all during the week. Look, the amount of people that told me they loved him – there was plenty of vet work, and the vet work was good.”
Godolphin doubles down
Through two more seven-figure lots the Godolphin support for Arqana's select offering continued when Stroud signed up a colt and a filly from Monceaux's dominant 'P' family of Platonic (Zafonic).
First it was another Wootton Bassett colt (Lot 107), this one out of Paix (Muhaarar), a daughter of Pacificique (Montjeu) who won the same Group 3 – the Prix Lutece – as her daughter. Paix has been quick to carve out her own black-type producer niche from the Monceaux paddocks.
Still only nine, she is the dam of dual Listed winner Parachutiste (Dubawi) as well as the Group 3-placed Skydance (Night Of Thunder), while her current 2-year-old, Peaceful Charm (Dubawi), was bought for €2 million (AU$3.27 million) at this sale last year and made her debut for Godolphin at Newmarket in July.
After outbidding Juddmonte's Simon Mockridge at €1.6 million (AU$2.61 million), Stroud said, “We've got the half-sister, who we like very much, and obviously he comes from a wonderful farm in Monceaux. He has a wonderful pedigree and was one of our favourite horses today.”
“He (Lot 107) has a wonderful pedigree and was one of our favourite horses today.” - Anthony Stroud
A half-sister to Paix, Psara (Invincible Spirit) is responsible for Listed winner Yellow Jersey (Dubawi), who joined the stable of Tony and Calvin McEvoy at the end of last year. He was second in the Listed Wayne Wilson Stakes in June at his first start on Australian soil.
Godolphin also bought the Frankel filly (Lot 120) out of Philomene (Dubawi) at €1.7 million (AU$2.78 million), but Stroud explained that it was a case of buying out their partners in the mare, who is a Group 3 winner and G1 Prix de Diane runner-up as well as being a half-sister to the Group 1-winning trio of Magic Wand (Galileo), Chicquita (Montjeu), and Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica).
He said, “It's the most beautiful pedigree – Diamond Necklace has done so well this year. We raced the mare in partnership, so it was a 50-50 and we were buying our share.”
Unsurprisingly, Godolphin is the leading buyer at Arqana August after the first two sessions. On Sheikh Mohammed's behalf, Anthony Stroud has signed for five of the six seven-figure lots, with a total of six yearlings bought for €9,950,000 (AU$16,247,603), which equates to 29% of the turnover so far.
Diamond Necklace's brother to Yoshito Yahagi at €1 million
It wasn't the last we heard from Monceaux and this particular family as the Siyouni colt (Lot 128) out of Prudenzia (Dansili) – a three-parts-brother to four-time Group 1 winner Diamond Necklace – brought yet another seven-figure return for his stellar dam when selling for €1 million (AU$1.63 million) to Yoshito Yahagi.
The Japanese trainer is no stranger to Arqana. He bought the sale-topping colt here in 2022 – also by Siyouni and a full brother to Arc winner Sottsass – for €2.1 million (AU$3.43 million). Later named Shin Emperor, he won the G2 Neom Turf Cup in Riyadh and was beaten a neck in the G1 Japan Cup when finishing second to Do Deuce.
Yahagi's latest purchase will race for the same owner, Susumu Fujita, who also owns the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Forever Young (Real Steel).
“Siyouni is a stallion who produces horses with a lot of speed and I think this horse will suit Japan,” Yahagi said. “Of course, we don't have any Siyounis in Japan, so it was an added lure to come here to try and buy one.
“Siyouni is a stallion who produces horses with a lot of speed and I think this horse (Lot 128) will suit Japan.” - Yoshito Yahagi
"He was bought on behalf of the same owner of Shin Emperor. You know, over the past few years at this sale, the quality of the fillies has been higher than the colts. This year, this catalogue contains a lot of good colts. I am looking for colts, so that is why I am here.”
Monceaux maestro Henri Bozo will be able to sleep a little easier after a successful Sunday, despite the fact that there is still one full-day session remaining of the sale.
He said, “It is quite a day for the family. Once again, I always keep saying the same, but it's a family we developed at Monceaux since the beginning in partnership with Lady O'Reilly. And the family has been bought by great clients of ours who come back every year to buy from us, between Godolphin and Mr Yahagi. So I'm very touched by the support.
Henri Bozo | Image courtesy of Jour De Galop
“We knew we were bringing in some very good horses. So you never know if they're going to bring a million or a million five or 800, but it's a very, very pleasing sale. Very pleasing results.”
“You never know if they're going to bring a million or a million five or 800, but it's a very, very pleasing sale.” - Henri Bozo
To add to what is already a stressful week, Prudenzia's Siyouni colt has been carrying a foot abscess over the last few days.
Bozo added, “Well, it's how hard it can be sometimes. We brought a beautiful horse who was working very well and two days ago he developed a foot abscess, but we treated it and we were very clear with the people who were interested in him and they trusted us. So it's a good result.”
650k Chaldean to Fiona Carmichael
Andreas Putsch's Haras de Saint Pair has its own signature family, that of the G1 Prix Vermeille winner Pearly Shells (Efisio), whose Listed-winning granddaughter Pearly Steph (Oasis Dream) produced a knockout result for first-season sire Chaldean.
The mare's chestnut filly, a three-parts-sister to the G3 Prix Minerve winner Eternal Pearl (Frankel), was the selection of Amanda Skiffington on behalf of owner Fiona Carmichael at €650,000 (AU$1.06 million).
“We really wanted a filly with a proper pedigree, and she has it,” Skiffington said of Lot 115. “They are hard to buy, as you know, and we liked the Chaldean foals last year, they were beautiful.”
“We really wanted a filly with a proper pedigree, and she (Lot 115) has it.” - Amanda Skiffington
Amanda Skiffington | Image courtesy of Goffs
Putsch commented on the filly's similarity to her Classic-winning sire.
“The mare had produced a very nice horse by Frankel and, when a mare gets to a certain age, I like to put them to a younger stallion,” he said. “Chaldean was a precocious Frankel and when Shane Horan from Juddmonte came to see her as a foal, he showed me a picture of Chaldean from the time he was a foal at Whitsbury Manor Stud. They were very similar: a carbon copy. We knew we had a nice one then.”
Pearly Steph, herself a daughter of Group 3 winner Pearl Banks (Pivotal), has a Zarak filly foal and is now in foal to Havana Grey.
Chaldean has had three yearlings sold so far at Arqana and is at the head of the freshman sires represented at the sale with an average of €275,000 (AU$449,054).
