Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fastnet Foal The Star of Arqana

A colt foal by Fastnet Rock (Aus) (lot 675) starred at Deauville as trade wound down a notch during the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale on Monday. Consigned by Haras de Castillon, who had also offered eventual €2.5-million buy and Group 1 winner Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), the bay is out of the winning Purple Magic (GB) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}). He was purchased by Benoit Jeffroy on behalf of Manister House Stud for €60,000.

Besides the top lot, race fillies and broodmares were the most sought after, especially those in foal to promising young sire Zarak (Fr). Zarak already has a pair of Group 1-placed horses and two black-type winners to his credit. One of the former, G1 Criterium International runner-up Purplepay (Fr) brought €2 million during Saturday's session.

Haras de Cercy's Anjella (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) (lot 782), sold in foal to the son of Dubawi (Ire), made €45,000 from Jeffroy's Ecurie Castillon Bloodstock on behalf of Magic Dream. A full-sister to German listed heroine Ambria (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), the chestnut 15-year-old has produced Stable Genius (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who ran third in the G3 Prix la Force. This is also the family of G1 Preis der Diana heroine Amarette (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}).

Joining Anjella at €45,000 is the 3-year-old Siyouni (Fr) filly Dariyla (Fr) from His Highness The Aga Khan's Studs. Also in foal to the Aga Khan's Zarak, lot 832 caught the eye of BBA Ireland. She is a descendant of French champion G1 Prix de Diane victress Daryaba (Ire) (Night Shift), who also landed the G1 Prix Vermeille.

Yet another carrying to the Haras de Bonneval resident, Seemingly (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) hammered at €36,000 to Guy Pariente. From the Haras du Quesnay draft, lot 658 is out of Listed Prix Vulcain heroine Oh Beautiful (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and is from the same family as outstanding bluehen Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}).

Haras du Buff sent Geneva Spur (Distorted Humor) (lot 644), in foal to first-year covering sire Persian King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), through the ring and the 5-year-old was purchased by Six of Us for €42,000. Group winners Silk and Scarlet (GB) (Sadler's Wells) and Danger Over (GB) (Warning {GB}) are full- and half-sisters to her dam, My Dark Rosaleen (GB) (Sadler's Wells). Silk and Scarlet foaled subsequent Group 1 winners Eishin Apollon (Giant's Causeway) (Japan), Master of Hounds (Kingmambo) (Dubai) and Minorett (Smart Strike) (United States).

The Aga Khan's Studs' Deriyana (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}) (lot 835) was knocked down to Crispin de Moubray for €36,000 near the end of Monday's session. Although unraced, the 3-year-old is well-bred, being a daughter of the dual listed-placed Deremah (More Than Ready), herself a half-sister to French listed winner Dariyma (Fr) (City Zip), who would also place third in the G2 Prix Dollar. Under the group-placed third dam is the 2006 G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Darsi (Fr) (Polish Precedent).

At the close of business on Monday, the gross was well up on 2020's at €2,119,500 for 205 sold from 276 offered (74.3%), from an admittedly bigger catalogue. The average and median were slightly off the 2020 marks as well at €10,339 and €7,000, respectively.

The fourth and final session of the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale begins at 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

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Group 1 Winner Rougir Added To Arqana December

Haras de la Gousserie's G1 Prix de l'Opera winner Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) is one of three wild cards to have been added to Arqana's Breeding Stock Sale in December, along with Eudaimonia (Fr) (Vision d'Etat {Fr}), who was third in the same race.

Winner of the G3 Prix des Reservoirs and placed in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac at two, Rougir progressed this season to take fifth in the G1 Prix de Diane, finishing just a length and a half behind the winner Joan Of Arc (Ire). She was then just half a length off the same filly when finishing fourth in the G1 Prix de Rothschild in August before claiming her own top-level spoils in Paris on Arc weekend.

Out of the Elusive City mare Summer Moon (Fr), Rougir was a €55,000 graduate of Arqana's August Yearling Sale and will be offered in December though Sumbe as lot 160.

Joining her in Deauville is her erstwhile Prix de l'Opera rival, the third-placed Eudaimonia, who was subsequently runner-up in the G2 Premio Lydia Tesio last weekend. The 6-year-old is the winner of five races and was also placed in last season's G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris for trainer Edouard Monfort and owners Rebecca Philipps and John Hammond.

Eudaimonia, who is catalogued as lot 200, is the third of the wildcards to sell on the opening day of the sale and will be preceded by Persona Grata (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) as lot 170. The 10-year-old broodmare was bred by Kirsten Rausing and was a dual listed winner in France before being sold to Eric Puerari, whose Haras des Capucines is consigning the mare in foal to Night Of Thunder (Ire).

Persona Grata's first foal, the 3-year-old Lovely Esteem (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), is a winner and Group 2-placed in Ireland, and the pedigree has also received a boost from afar as Persona Grata's half-sister Kesara (GB) (Sadler's Wells) is the dam of Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), a multiple Group 1 winner in Australia this year.

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale begins on Saturday, Dec. 4 and runs for four days.

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Bouquetot Sires Shine at Arqana’s Final Session

Al Shaqab Racing’s Haras de Bouquetot featured heavily among the top lots on the fourth and final day of the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale in Deauville. Both the topper and next dearest lot were mares in foal to Bouquetot residents, and the co-highest-priced foal of the day was also by one of their growing roster of stallions

Lot 784, the Frankel (GB) mare Bursa (GB) in foal to G1 Prix Jacques le Marois hero Al Wukair (Fr) from the Bouquetot draft proper, commanded a session-topping €38,000 from Haras du Quesnay.

Out of a winning full-sister to G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud heroine Plumania (GB) (Anabaa), Bursa is also closely related to fellow Group 1 winner Left Hand (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). She already has fillies on the ground by Bouquetot resident and MG1SW Ectot (GB) last year and Al Wukair this spring.

“I really like the mare, and the pedigree,” said Criquette Head of Bursa. “It’s a lovely Wertheimer family and it’s great to get into it. The mare corresponds to several of our stallions, but the choice doesn’t stop there.”

Windfield Bloodstock was in action for lot 711, Al Hamla (Medaglia d’Oro), who was also offered by Bouquetot. Knocked down for €27,000, the 8-year-old is carrying to G1 Prix Jean Prat victor Zelzal (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). The resulting progeny would be her fifth foal. A daughter of GIII Locust Grove H. heroine Genuine Devotion (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), Al Hamla’s dam is a half-sister to Classic winner and Group 1 sire Mastercraftsman (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and G1 Moyglare Stud S. bridesmaid Famous (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

“She a beautiful mare by Medaglia d’Oro with a page–her dam is by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) and a sister to Mastercraftsman (Ire),” said Jean Biraben. “It’s a young pedigree that could turn something up.”

A pair of mares brought €22,000–Haras de la Louviere’s Perfect Day (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) (lot 643), herself a daughter of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Yesterday (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), went to Morten Buskop Bloodstock; while Agence BHB shelled out the same amount for lot 722, Haigoa (Fr) (Diktat {GB}). The former is in foal to Group 1 sire Galiway (GB) on a May 17 cover. Ectot is the covering sire of record for Haras du Berlais consignee Haigoa, a half-sister to G2 Premio Ribot scorer King Air (Fr) (Kingsalsa).

Al Wukair, Ectot and Zelzal all have their first juveniles running in 2021.

It was a two-way tie for most expensive foal of the day, with Meridian International striking first at €22,000 for a filly by Birchwood (Ire) (lot 676) out of Bourgeauville (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}). Hailing from the Ecurie d’Auge draft, the bay’s second dam won at listed level in France.

“She’s a pretty filly [by] Birchwood, out of a Le Havre dam,” said Ghislain Bozo. “I think that Birchwood is a promising sire. His offspring are already pleasing their trainers, with good minds and look early types. I’m a fan.”

Equaling that price later in the session was a grey son of the aforementioned Al Wukair out of Green Media (Fr) (Green Tune) from La Motteraye Consignment. Lot 716 attracted the attention of Haras du Saubouas and is from the extended family of G1 French 2000 Guineas hero Style Vendome (Fr) (Anabaa).

From a statistical standpoint, Tuesday’s session sported a 78.44% clearance rate (up over 12% compared to 2019), with 131 sold of 167 for a gross of €839,500. The average was €6,408 (-66.13%) and the median also dropped to €4,500 (-55%). In 2019, Arqana’s final session was a mix of Flat and National Hunt horses. This year, due to COVID-19, the sessions contained fewer lots in order to meet pandemic restrictions, with all of the National Hunt breeding stock moved to the Nov. 19 Arqana National Hunt Breeding Stock Sale instead.

Overall, the clearance rate remained a bright spot throughout the sale, and moved up two points to 79.12% for 557 sold from 704 offered. The gross was €25,0284,500, while the median and average were €17,000 (-10.52%) and €45,394 (-7.85%), respectively.

Topping the buyers’ sheets was Meridian International, which bought 14 head for €1,448,000. Shadai Farm was next with €930,000 for a pair of lots, while Blandford Bloodstock bought nine for a gross of €902,000. Wertheimer et Frere were in front on the consignors’ table, selling 24 horses for a gross of €3,353,000, closely followed by Ecurie des Monceaux for €3,141,000 for 29 lots. Third on the vendors list was Haras d’Etreham which sold 26 lots for €1,748,000.

At the end of the four-day sale, Arqana President Eric Hoyeau and Executive Director Freddy Powell said, “The Breeding Stock Sale is a perfect reflection of the overall results for this year. The figures display a decrease of around 20% in sales volume, with the average falling by 15% but still remaining solid given the particular global context. We are relieved that all the efforts that we have made to mitigate the constraints imposed by Covid–from the development of Arqana Online to the more general aspects including inspection videos and chartering flights for our foreign clients–have borne fruit.

“However, these efforts would have been in vain without the help of the local authorities, with whom we have worked very closely to ensure that the sales could take place, as well as all of the players involved: all the consignors and buyers, who showed remarkable adaptability and complied with the protocols imposed by the health crisis, all the Arqana teams, the ground staff who worked to make the establishment as welcoming as possible despite the restrictions, Henri Morel and his teams who succeeded in completely rethinking their catering to continue satisfying the clientele, as well as all the European sales agencies that we worked with to arrange the sale dates in order to meet the needs of the sector.

“We would like to thank them all for their efforts and their contribution to the functioning of the market. It has been difficult in many ways, and this year has been marked by a great spirit of solidarity and resilience.”

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Strong Clearance As Arqana Continues

As the prices have dropped, so has the clearance rate risen at Arqana, with 84% of the 164 mares and foals offered on Monday being marked as sold.

Other indicators also improved on the trade from the equivalent session last year as the average rose by 17% to €11,478 and the median jumped from €6,500 to €10,000. From a much smaller offering than in 2019, the 137 lots sold during the third session brought an aggregate of €1,572,500.

Matt Houldsworth of Howson & Houldsworth Bloodstock has been busy throughout the sale, signing for seven horses in total, including Monday’s top lot (544) from Haras du Mont dit Mont. It was the second time that Nafithaa (GB), a 4-year-old daughter of Shamardal, has been through a sale ring in 18 months and this time around she was offered in foal to Intello (Ger). Bred by Shadwell, she is a daughter of the listed-placed Lanansaak (GB) (Zamindar) from a family which traces back to the G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Desirable (GB) (Lord Gayle).

“She’s been bought for an existing client,” said Houldsworth after bidding €51,000. “It’s hard to buy mares by Shamardal and she’s from a nice Shadwell family. Her 2-year-old sister [Zaajirah] was an impressive winner for Roger Varian and the 3-year-old half-brother [Montather] has won two races from three starts, so it is a young active family.”

Top of the foals on Wednesday was a first-crop son of the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois winner Al Wukair (Ire) (lot 566). The colt out of the four-time winner Money Time (Ire) (Arch) was sold by Haras de Doumy for €40,000 to Morten Buskop.

A colt by another freshman, Sioux Nation, was the pinhook choice for Michel Zerolo at €31,000.

He said of lot 640, “I bought the dam so I had to buy the little guy. He’s a first foal, and a good-looking colt from a lovely family. He’s been bought for a group of friends and will come back here to sell next year.”

His dam, the dual winner Volute (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who is out of a half-sister to G2 Prix de Sandringham winner Volta (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), went though the ring on Sunday for €65,000, carrying her second foal by Sea The Moon (Ger). Both were sold by La Motteraye Consignment.

The final day of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale commences on Tuesday at 10am.

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