Tag: Arqana August Yearling Sale

Positive Stats At Arqana’s Yearling Sales

The majority of Arqana's yearlings have now gone through the ring this season, with only the November Yearling Sale's 155 lots left to sell, and indices are positive across a range of categories for the Deauville-based sales company when taken as a whole.

For the first time, more than 1,200 horses were offered, with more than 1,000 of them finding new homes for a clearances rate of 82.7%. The turnover (€80,499,000) and average (€75,871) both increased, while the median settled at €31,000. In addition, 227 (+17%) horses sold for €100,000 or more, up from 193 in 2021. Four horses brought €1 million or more this year, double last year's two. One marked change was the creation of the September Yearling Sale, which replaced and extended the previous v.2 Yearling Sale, with 275 horses catalogued, an additional 100 lots from 2021.

Eric Hoyeau, President of Arqana and Freddy Powell, Executive Director, said of the combined yearling results through Friday, “Each year we reflect on the format of our sales in order to adapt to the offer. Our aim is to ensure that every yearling achieves its best possible value. In particular, we have had to change the v.2 Yearling Sale to accommodate a greater number of horses in September.

“Despite the 150 extra horses sold at the three sales, the market absorption rate remained very satisfactory, testifying to the attractiveness of French breeding at all levels and the quality of the work of our vendors. The 227 yearlings sold for €100,000 or more are further proof of this. We hope that the November Yearling Sale will continue in this vein, as will the Autumn Sale, which this time will welcome the cream of National Hunt yearlings to Deauville.”

The post Positive Stats At Arqana’s Yearling Sales appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Godolphin Goes to €2 million For Dubawi Colt At Arqana

A son of Dubawi (Ire) (lot 292) went to Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin for €2 million during the third and final session of the Arqana August Sale on Monday. He is the fourth seven-figure yearling of the three-day stand. Out of G3 Prix Minerve heroine Golden Valentine (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}), the bay colt was consigned by Ecurie des Monceaux. His second dam, G3 Prix Cleopatre victress Gold Round (Ire) (Caerleon), is responsible for no less than seven black-type horses, with four stakes winners to her credit. She is, in turn, a half-sister to the outstanding three-time GI Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa).

 

The post Godolphin Goes to €2 million For Dubawi Colt At Arqana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Global Appeal: Too Darn Hot’s First Crop Comes to Market at Arqana

Next week, the first yearlings by Darley's dual champion Too Darn Hot (GB) will be offered for sale at the Arqana August Yearling Sale. Expectations were always going to be high for Too Darn Hot–a son of sire of sires Dubawi (Ire), out of the triple Group 1-winning mare Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}), from the deep family of the prodigious sire Darshaan (GB). An undefeated champion at two who repeated as champion at three, he also achieved the best foal sales average of 2021.

But uniquely, it will not just be observers in Europe taking careful notice of his yearlings' performance in the ring, but several in America as well, where breeders and investors are noting the traits that make for a successful sire in the New World as well as the Old.

The Arqana group includes four fillies selling on Saturday Aug. 13, the first day of the sale: lot 3 for Ballylinch Stud, a filly out of the graded-stakes-placed Janicellaine (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}); lot 29 for Ecurie des Monceaux, a filly out of the listed and group-placed Lida (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), from the family of Wootton Bassett (GB); lot 66 for Haras du Cadran, the second foal from the multiple-group stakes winner Night Music (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}); lot 90 for Monceaux, a filly from the family of Group 1 winners Persian King (Ire) and Planteur (Ire); and one colt on day two of the sale, Monday; lot 220 for Baroda Stud, out of listed stakes winner and multiple group-stakes placed Bastet (Ire) (Giant's Causeway), and a half-brother to the Group 1 winner Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

Lane's End Farm's Bill Farish said he was so impressed with Too Darn Hot that he invested in the stallion upon his retirement.

“Too Darn Hot is a very exciting stallion for a lot of reasons,” said Farish. “I think he would work well over here in America, mainly because he had so much speed. He was a seven furlongs-to-a-mile Dubawi, which is pretty rare. Usually, they're middle distance to stayers. And, being a Mr. Prospector-line stallion, he just really appeals to me for this market.”

American-based breeder Tanya Gunther said she bred two mares to Too Darn Hot in his first year at stud, and has sent several back since. “Smart Change was the first; she's a daughter of Smart Strike from the Without Parole family,” she said. “We thought with Mr. Prospector and the speed that can come from Smart Strike that it would be an interesting mating. The other mare was a nice, well-bodied mare that we thought would suit him physically as well as on paper.

Frankie Dettori celebrates at the finish of the Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket October 13, 2018 | Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

“In the two yearlings, you can really see a bit of a stamp from Too Darn Hot. They're just very athletic. One is a late foal, but super athletic and looks precocious. The other one was an earlier foal and very tall, leggy, just an exceptional individual. And one thing I see in both of them is a lot of class and quality, so that made us very excited. We've sent a mare back again, and a couple of mares back this year as well. One of those mares is a half-sister to Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who had a very good year so far, and people will have seen him on t.v. So we're excited about the mares that we bred to him and the offspring that we've had so far and that we are expecting next year.”

“I followed him very closely from his first race on because we're close friends with the Lloyd- Webbers and with Simon Marsh,” said Farish, “so he was a horse I was particularly paying attention to. And, being an undefeated 2-year-old Group 1-winning champion, and being a champion at three, with his pedigree, he really checked so many boxes for us that we actually bought a breeding right in him when he retired. That's how much we thought of him. And we just we rarely ever do that with a European stallion.”

Lexington-based bloodstock agent Mike Ryan has bred to Too Darn Hot, and bred his same mares back to him a second time.

“I'm upset with myself that I didn't breed to him in his first year,” said Ryan. “I was asleep at the wheel. I bred two mares to him his second year. One aborted, and I have nice foal from the other.  She is back in foal to him. She has a filly foal by her side and the mare that lost her foal is also in foal to him.”

Ryan said he liked what he saw on the track, as well as what he's seeing from his offspring.

“Too Darn Hot was a brilliant 2-year-old,” he said. “He was undefeated at two, showed a lot of precocity, and he was champion 2-year-old. He carried on his class and ability as a 3-year-old. He had great acceleration, which we need in American racing. He had very good tactical speed. You could put him anywhere in a race. He is a lot like Kingman (GB): brilliant speed, brilliant acceleration, fast-ground horses. And I'm hoping he's the next Kingman and that we can go over there and afford to buy some and continue to breed to him.”

Said Farish, “The ones I've seen are look a lot like him. They're very typey, very attractive. Very attractive heads and very correct. I remember when they first bought Darara, the second dam, and she was very well-conformed, very straight-legged. And he's a more sprinter-miler looking than some of the rest of the family. But they've all been very good looking and very correct.”

“He's a magnificent-looking horse,” added Ryan. “Beautiful quality, great shape, oozes presence and class. And I understand his foals are very, very nice, very much like him.”

Both American-based breeders said that the early support he has received from Watership Down, who bred and campaigned him, and from Darley, would prove critical to his success.

 

Darley photo

“He stood at a high early stud fee (£50,000 in year one and £45,000 in year two), and if he can stand for that and consistently get full books, it's a testament to how popular he is over there and how well Darley and Watership Down have supported him,” said Farish. “He's just got every chance. You know, he's not only had four books in the Northern Hemisphere, but also down in Australia as well.”

“Too Darn Hot got tremendous support from both Godolphin and Watership Down, who bred and raced him,” Ryan agreed. “It's a huge leg-up for a young horse to get the backing of those kind of mares, and it gives them every chance to succeed in his first and second crops, which is hugely important. Much like Frankel and Kingman–Juddmonte supported both those stallions very heavily. And we see the results today. They are two of the top stallions in Europe. So you can't do better than that. It's up to the horse then himself to see if he can do it.”

“Everybody always talks about checking all the boxes,” Farish added. “Well, he really does check all the boxes. He was a champion at two and three, he was speedy, has a great pedigree. You just can go on and on about all of his qualifications and that's the best you can do is to have all those things covered. And he really does.”

“I think he's one of the most exciting young stallions in the world, not just Europe,” Ryan concluded. “He's beautifully bred. He's got a tremendous race record. He has every qualification that you would look for in a young horse. I think the sky's the limit for him.”

At 20 years old, the race is on to find Dubawi's heir apparent at stud, and Gunther said that with any luck, Too Darn Hot may well fill that role.

“When we went to see him at the stud, when he retired to Darley, he was an impressive individual, particularly in that he took after his father,” she said. “You like to see a bit of the sire in his sons.  I think the hopes would be very high that Too Darn Hot could potentially be his successor.”

The post Global Appeal: Too Darn Hot’s First Crop Comes to Market at Arqana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Solid Final Session Wraps Arqana August

DEAUVILLE, France–Gestut Ammerland, the famed German nursery of such luminaries of the turf as Lope De Vega (Ire) and Hurricane Run (Ire), stole the limelight during the concluding session of Arqana's August Sale with a New Bay (GB) granddaughter of the homebred Deutsches Derby winner and Arc-placed Borgia (Ger) (Acatenango {Ger}).

John and Thady Gosden had already left Deauville earlier in the day following Sunday's success of stable star Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois for the second year running. But, through Arqana's Freddy Powell, Thady placed his bids on the chestnut filly, finally signing her up for Clarehaven Stables at €320,000.

“She's a very nice filly from a great farm, with an excellent pedigree, and she has been bought for a client of ours,” he said later via text message.

The third foal of her dam Borgia's Best (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), the filly (lot 335) hails from a family which has reaped plenty of black type over the years for Dietrich Von Boetticher's Bavarian farm. Borgia's half-brother Boreal (Ger) (Java Gold) also won the Deutsches Derby and followed up a year later with victory in the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom. Their dam Brittania (Ger) (Tarim {GB}) was a winner of the G2 Deutsches St Leger, while Borgia's Best's half-siblings include the Group 3 winner Bermuda Reef (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Born Wild (Ger) (Sadler's Wells), who is the dam of G1 Prix Vermeille winner Baltic Baroness (Ger) (Shamardal).

The solidity of the final day's trade remained through to the penultimate lot (lot 354), which became the session's second-highest price at €270,000. Arthur Hoyeau was the successful bidder on the sole Caravaggio yearling in the book. Consigned by Haras des Granges, she is a half-sister to two black-type performers, including the listed winner Yuman (Fr) (Literato {Fr}).

“I love Caravaggio and the dam has already produced some good horses,” Hoyeau said. “She was my pick of the day and she will go into training with Christophe Ferland for a partnership in which I will also be involved.”

 

Trade Holds Up Well

Compared to the last pre-Covid August Sale, figures took a bit of a tumble but not drastically so, and they certainly held their own against the sets of figures in the three years preceding a strong 2019 sale. An overall clearance rate of 76% was attained from the sale of 246 yearlings for a total of €40,229,000 (-8%). The average of €162,638 was down by 13 % and the median also dipped slightly to €100,000. The second part of the August Sale staged in one session on Monday accounted for €9,667,000 of that aggregate, at an average price of €75,523 and median of €65,000 for 128 sold (76.7%).

At the end of the sale, Eric Hoyeau, President of Arqana and Freddy Powell, Executive Director, commented, “The sale remained very international today and the percentage of horses sold was solid, which made the average slip a little compared to 2019. Over the three days as a whole, the results were pleasing. The context was still uncertain when the catalogue was released and it is a relief to see that this edition is in line with the August Sales that we have held previously, just behind the exceptional year of 2019. This is only the third time the turnover has exceeded €40 million and the number of horses sold for €200,000 or more is the same as in 2018. We were fortunate to experience a sale in a near-normal atmosphere. We would like to thank our buyers once again who were active on site and remotely, as well as our vendors for having brought yearlings of this quality to the ring.

“After a year “off”, the v.2 makes its comeback tomorrow at Deauville. This sale has produced some very good horses, such as Coeursamba, Teppal and Olmedo, and we hope that it will continue on in the same vein following the success of the August Sale.”

 

Sole Power

There was a strong start to proceedings, with four six-figure prices within the first 10 lots through the ring. The early leader until the final hour of the sale was lot 182, the sole offering in the catalogue from John Kilpatrick's J. K. Thoroughbreds. The colt by Wootton Bassett (GB) is from a Juddmonte family which includes the yearling's listed-winning grandam Short Dance (Hennessy) and the G2 Windsor Forest S. winner Lolly For Dolly (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}). Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland made his play for the colt online, with the hammer eventually falling in his favour at €210,000.

“I liked everything about him, he's an absolutely gorgeous individual and has a super temperament,” Donohoe said. “His sire doesn't need much of an introduction, he's the whole package and I thought he was one of the best colts selling today.”

The colt is the second foal of Fray (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), who was bought from Juddmonte by trainer Jim Goldie and subsequently raced in the colours of Frank Brady. That owner/breeder also races Fray's first foal, Odsonne (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who is in training in France with Francois Monfort.

 

Siyouni, Siyouni

In France, there's no getting away from the champion sire Siyouni (Fr). The Haras de Bonneval resident sired a group-race double across the road from the sales on Sunday with 2-year-old filly Who Knows (Fr) and Wally (Fr), and he retained his popularity in the sale ring throughout the three sessions.

It's easy to understand why the stallion is a favourite with trainers, and Yann Barberot and Pia Brandt both signed for sons of Siyouni on Monday.

Deauville-based Barberot opted for lot 258, the first of five yearlings sold on the day by leading consignor Ecurie des Monceaux. The well-related colt is out of a three-parts sister to the treble Group 1 winner Persian King (Ire)(Kingman {GB}) and bought a final bid of €195,000 from Barberot on behalf of Haras de Bouttemont.

Earlier, Brandt had gone to €190,000 for lot 215 from Haras d'Etreham, the colt out of listed winner Lily Passion (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).

The trainer noted, “I've bought him for one of my owners, Finn Blichfield.”

Siyouni's 15 yearlings sold through the August Sale returned an average of €307,667.

 

Bon Ho Extends European Investment

The international investment at Arqana continued as Hong Kong-based Bon Ho, acting through Mark McStay's Avenue Bloodstock, bought lot 255, Haras de Castillon's son of Night Of Thunder (Ire) for €185,000.

“Bon Ho is an international owner and owns the Everest winner Classique Legend (Aus) as well as Southern Legend (Aus), who is Group 1 winner in Hong Kong,” said the agent.

The owner has also enjoyed success in Ireland recently with Storm Legend (Ire), a listed winner trained by Fozzy Stack and by the same sire as his most recent purchase. The 3-year-old has joined Caspar Fownes in Hong Kong since his victory at Naas on July 3.

McStay continued, “This colt was well presented by Benoit Jeffroy's Haras de Castillon and we're delighted to get him. There are no specific plans as yet for where he will be trained. Bon Ho is very selective about what he buys and he gets very involved in the process. He's a family friend and I'm very fortunate that he has asked me to help him.”

The May-born colt is out of the dual winner Precious Dream (Mr. Greeley), a daughter of the Oaks winner Lady Carla (GB) (Caerleon {Ire}) who in turn traces back to the Meon Valley Stud foundation mare Odeon (GB).

Haras de Castillon's second big sale of the day came at the same price of €185,000 for lot 342, a Kodiac (GB) first living foal of the listed winner Charm Appeal (Fr) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}). Richard Venn did the bidding on the filly who will go into training in Deauville with Stephane Wattel.

 

A Quartet For America

Further international representation on Monday came from American trainer Kenny McPeek, who bought four yearlings on his third visit to Arqana.

“I've come two other years and the first couple of days are obviously high-level horses with a lot of pedigree. I'm always fairly active at Fasig-Tipton July and then I'm less active at Saratoga in August and then active again in the second half of the September Sale. I enjoy finding a good horse before the page finds it,” he said.

Two colts and two fillies will be on the plane from France to the United States, including a first-crop daughter of Coolmore's Saxon Warrior (Jpn) offered by Haras des Capucines as lot 283. Bought for €125,000, the filly boasts a fairly international pedigree, being out of Songerie (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}), a half-sister to the dam of Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), a multiple top-flight winner in France and America who went on top produce Frankel's first Group 1 winner, Soul Stirring (Jpn), in Japan.

“Good horses run anywhere and we run so much more turf racing in America now anyway, and I think it's good to have some more outcross pedigrees,” McPeek continued. “Most every horse I've seen here is eligible for the Breeders' Cup and Arqana has done a great job getting us here. Now I just have to figure out how to get home!”

The trainer noted that Three Chimneys Farm and Walking L Thoroughbreds will partner in the fillies. He added, “We will probably do a couple of Magdalena partnerships for the colts and we'll offer them out to some regular clients. Typically those are 20% shares.”

The colts include a second-crop son of the Aga Khan Studs stallion Zarak (Fr), sold by his breeder Domaine de l'Etang as lot 328 for €100,000. He too has a deep pedigree behind him which traces back to the good Wildenstein family of treble Group 1 winner Aquarelliste (Fr) (Danehill), who is his third dam.

Adding to the global flavour of the sale was Australian owner/breeder Matthew Sandblom, who bought lot 232, a filly from the first crop of crack sprinter Harry Angel (Ire) for €47,000 from Jedburgh Stud.

 

Smart Colt For Griezmann

The star of the Haras de Montaigu draft on the final day was an elegant dark brown colt very much in the mould of his sire Almanzor (Fr), who fetched €150,000.

The colt's dam Hunza Dancer (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) is a full-sister to Air Chief Marshal (Ire) and half-sister to G1 Irish St Leger winner Flag Of Honour (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who has already produced three winners, including the listed-placed Samothrace (Fr) (Iffraaj {GB}). Sold as lot 197, he was bought by Laurent Benoit of Broadhurst Agency on behalf of football star Antoine Griezmann and will be trained by Philippe Decouz.

Benoit also signed for a statuesque daughter of Camelot (GB) from the consignment of Lady Chryss O'Reilly's Haras de la Louiviere at €160,000. One of the first horses through on Monday, lot 174 is a daughter of the young Wootton Bassett mare Elide (Ire) who is herself a granddaughter of George Strawbridge's In Clover (GB) (Inchinor {GB}), the dam of of a trio of Group 1 winners in Call The Wind (GB), With You (GB) and We Are (GB).

 

Galiway's Good Sale

Galiway (GB) had five yearlings catalogued for the Arqana August Sale, all from his home farm of Haras de Colleville. One failed to sell but the remaining quartet returned an average price of €183,000: not bad from Galiway's opening fee of €3,000. After his first crop of runners, which included the G3 Prix La Rochette winner Kenway (Fr), the stallion's fee rose to €10,000 and then along came G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere victor Sealiway (Fr) in his second bunch of runners and the price rose again to €12,000. Sisters to both those stakes-winning colts sold on Saturday for €220,000 and €380,000, respectively.

Another two Galiway fillies feature in the V.2 Sale which begins at 3 p.m. on Tuesday and will conclude the sales action in Deauville until October.

The post Solid Final Session Wraps Arqana August appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights