Arqana February Sale | Horse Racing Free Tips

Jumping Filly Tops Arqana Opener

There was a steady start to proceedings at Arqana's two-day February Sale, with figures pretty much on par with last year's trade and the National Hunt filly Be A Nice Girl (Fr) (Bathyrhon {Ger}) topping the first session at €120,000

A decent clearance rate of 78% from 141 horses sold brought turnover of €1,772,000, with the average and median both contracting slightly at €12,567 and €6,000 respectively.

The day's leading lady was the 4-year-old hurdler offered as lot 63 by her trainer Jean-Pierre Fertillet. Happily for him, Be A Nice Girl will be returning to his stable after she was signed for by Marco Bozzi on behalf of an unnamed French owner.

“She has been bought for a good client and she will stay with Jean-Pierre Fertillet,” confirmed the agent. “It's the first time they have bought a jumper and €120,000 is an awful lot of money but they were happy to do that and she is a very nice mare.”

Bred by Richard Venn and Pascal Noue, Be A Nice Girl was originally sold as a 2-year-old for €23,000 and has made just one start to date. Her dam Turgotine (Fr) (Turgeon {GB}) is a full-sister to the dam of the dual Grade 1-winning steeplechaser Allaho (Fr) (No Risk At All {Fr}).

A few lots later, the 3-year-old Marynder (Fr) (Pedro The Great) was knocked down to Alessandro Marconi for €90,000 and will eventually end up racing overseas. Trained last season by Joel Boisnard, the gelding ran just three times, winning over a mile at Chantilly and placing at Deauville.

Marconi said of lot 66, who hails from the family of Godolphin's dual Grade I-winning filly Questing (GB) (Hard Spun), “His dam is by Hard Spun, a stallion that I really like and who I think is a very good broodmare sire.We don't know yet if he will race on in France; the owners' premiums are interesting. We will have a think but the final objective remains the Middle East.”

Signing under the name of his Horse Racing Advisory, Hubert Barbe went to €90,000 in pursuit of lot 38, the AQPS mare Green Dragoness (Fr) (Enrique {Ire}), who was consigned by Haras du Lieu des Champs on behalf of trainer David Cottin. A winner last season herself over fences, the 6-year-old is well credentialed as a broodmare prospect as she is a half-sister to the champion French chaser and 11-time winner Blue Dragon (Fr) (Califet {Fr}) as well as to the five-time winner Fabulous Dragoness (Fr) (Poliglote {GB}). Barbe advised that Green Dragoness will now join Haras de Couely.

Of the in-foal mares offered for sale later in the session, two daughters of Galileo (Ire) sold for €80,000 each. Denis Brosnan's Epona Bloodstock signed for lot 193, Haras de Bouquetot's full-sister to Listed winner Cameron Highland (GB) and a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Solid Stone (Ire) (Shamardal). Named Ghand (GB), the 8-year-old was sold in foal to Bouquetot's Romanised (Ire).

Marc-Antoine Berghgracht bought the unraced Balkis (Fr) (lot 154), who is also by Galileo and consigned by Bouquetot. A daughter of the GI American Oaks winner Harmonious (Dynaformer), she was sold carrying her second foal by Bated Breath (GB).

The sale continues on Wednesday from 11am local time.

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Winter Sale Action Switches To Deauville

Following positive starts to the sales year in Britain and Ireland, this week the midwinter auction action switches to France for the two-day Arqana February Sale, which starts on Tuesday in Deauville.

Trade begins with a session of 85 horses in training, both Flat and Jumps, and then progresses to yearlings and 2-year-olds, followed by breeding stock.

A rare opportunity in this part of the world to buy a daughter of Deep Impact (Jpn)'s promising young son Kizuna (Jpn) is presented by lot 164, from the draft of Wertheimer et Frere. Named Anacronique (Ire), the unraced 4-year-old filly is out of the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein and G2 Prix de Sandringham winner Impassible (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), herself a half-sister to the Group winners Spotify (Fr) (Rediute's Choice {Aus}) and Attendu (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}). Another sibling, the mare's Listed-winning full-sister Foreign Tune (Ire), is the dam of G3 Prix La Force winner Adhamo (Fr) (Intello {Ger}).

Haras de Bouquetot is offering the young Olympic Glory (Ire) mare Helcia (Ire) in foal to Mehmas (Ire) as lot 231. A winning juvenile, Helcia is a daughter of the highly credentialed Mizdirection (Mizzen Mast), who won back-to-back runnings of the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. From the same draft comes lot 283, the 8-year-old dual winner Middle East (Ire), a Frankel (GB) three-quarter-sister to the dual Group 3 winner and Group 1 runner-up Nayef Road (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was covered on May 27 by Ectot (Ire). The mare also has a 2-year-old filly by Le Havre (Ire) and a yearling colt by Shalaa (Ire).

Among the National Hunt mares, the only one catalogued in foal to Haras du Mesnil's popular stallion Doctor Dino (Fr) is the well-related Crystal Reef (GB) (lot 411), a King's Best half-sister to Martaline (GB), Reefscape (GB) and Coastal Path (GB), all of whom have made an impact as National Hunt sires. Now 17, the mare's five winners in both codes include the G2 Prix Chaudenay winner Doha Dream (GB) (Shamardal) and Matfog (Fr) (Style Vendome {Fr}), whose six victories include the G2 Grand Steeple-Chase de Compiegne.

Of the 70 yearlings standing their ground for the sale, there is one youngster by last year's champion first-season sire in France, Zarak (Fr). Catalogued as lot 364 and already named Zinayak (Fr), the colt from Haras de Precolette is a son of the winning Anabaa Blue (Fr) mare Zina Blue (Fr), who is a half-sister to the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Morandi (Fr) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).

A member of Wootton Bassett's final French-conceived crop is offered as lot 148 by Haras de la Haie Neuve and is a half-sister to the G2 Prix Greffulhe winner and Arc fourth Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}), who is now in training in Australia with Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

In addition to the 435 lots originally catalogued, the sale has been boosted by a wildcard and 27 supplementary entries, including lot 446, the Monsun (Ger) mare Alexandrina (Ger) from the family of Melbourne Cup winner Almandin (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}). The 16-year-old, who is the dam of the G2 Prix de Pomone runner-up Mango Tango (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), is offered carrying a foal from the first crop of Siyouni's son Sottsass (Fr).

The sale gets underway each day at 11am local time.

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Diva Victoria Joins Arqana February Mixed Sale

The winner Diva Victoria (Fr) (Recorder {GB}) (lot 70) has been added as a wildcard to the upcoming Arqana February Mixed Sale. Offered by trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, the great granddaughter of the G1 Oaks heroine Eswarah (GB) (Unfuwain) will go through the ring on Tuesday, Feb. 15 along with the other 95 horses-in-training. Her dam is a half-sister to G2 Prix de Pomone and G3 Prix de Psyche victress Raabihah (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who also ran second in the G1 Prix Vermeille. Diva Victoria, who is currently rated 85, won a Cagnes-sur-Mer maiden race by five lengths on Feb. 11.

Deauville hosts the two-day sale on Feb. 15-16, with sessions beginning at 11 a.m. local time each day.

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Arqana Jump Starts The Season With €250,000 Hurdler

Arqana has an advantage over its counterparts in Britain and Ireland in so far as the company is able to stage a live sale in Deauville this week, with some encouraging returns posted from the first of two sessions of the February Sale on Monday.

Two six-figure lots were at the head of the action, and trade was fairly lively throughout, with the average being boosted by 22% to €13,669, while turnover was also up, by 23%, at €1,654,000 thanks to a much improved clearance rate of 77.5%. From a smaller offering of 156 for the day, 121 horses were sold at a median price of €6,500, up from €5,000 last year.

The colours of British National Hunt owner Robert Waley-Cohen have been carried with great success by some notable French-breds in recent years, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Long Run (Fr) (Cadoudal {Fr}) and Topham Chase victrix Liberthine (Fr) (Chamberlin {Fr}). The latest acquisition by the owner of Warwickshire's Upton Viva Stud was the leading light of day one, the AQPS gelding Hardi Du Mesnil (Fr) (Masterstroke). At €250,000, the 4-year-old half-brother to Gaillard Du Mesnil (Fr) (Saint Des Saints {Fr}), recent winner of a Grade 1 novices' hurdle during the Dublin Racing Festival, had several pursuers, but it was David Powell who lasted longest on Waley-Cohen's behalf.

He said, “He is a horse who deserves a bit of a battle. We are going to let him have a break for a while to strengthen up.”

Hardi Du Mesnil (lot 60) has to date won once on the Flat and, most recently, over hurdles at Pau in January for trainer Matthieu Palussiere.

The 7-year-old race mare Lady Paname (Fr) (Soldier Of Fortune {Ire}) was the day's other six-figure lot, fetching a bid of €120,000 from Sebastien Desmontils of Chauvigny Global Equine standing alongside Pierric Rouxel of Haras de Maulepaire.

Having started her racing career in France under the care of Elie Lellouche, for whom she won and was placed in the G2 Qatar Prix Chaudenay and G3 Prix de Royaumont, Lady Paname was sold to race in America, where she won Grade 3 contests at Belmont and Aqueduct. Sold as lot 160 by La Motteraye Consignment, she is out of the dual winner Business Class (GB) (Aussie Rules {GB}). Her future will now be as a National Hunt broodmare, with Haras de Montaigu's popular young stallion No Risk At All (Fr) slated to be her first partner.

“We bought her for a partnership between Ecurie Drost and Ecurie Tygaly,” explained Rouxel. “We're delighted; she's a mare we've been coveting for a while, and we love her very much. She's going to be a broodmare and we will definitely be sending her to No Risk At All.”

A relatively new name on the breeding front, Austrian-based Sage Stud, made a well-credentialed signing through Chris Richner. The agent went to €85,000 for listed winner Oh Beautiful (Ire), a daughter of Galileo (Ire) in foal to Shalaa (Ire).

The 12-year-old mare (lot 148) has produced two winners from her three foals to race and is out of a half-sister to the storied race mare and producer Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), whose talented dynasty includes the Group 1 winners Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

“The owners have been in the business for over 30 years and recently bought Sage Stud and completely renovated it,” said Richner. “This is the third year that they have come to Arqana Sales to find quality mares.”

The progressive young steeplechaser Laskalin (Fr) (Martaline {GB}) was only added to the sale as a wildcard last week as lot 70 and he too found favour with a British-based owner, having being bought through agent Guy Petit for €77,000.

“After a rest, he will head to England to join the stable of Venetia Williams,” explained the agent. “He is no longer a novice but he has the ideal profile to deal with big handicaps. We are very pleased to have bought him.”

The 6-year-old, a full-brother to fellow black-type-winning jumper Laskaline (Fr), recently won the listed Prix Bernard de Dufau over fences at Pau for trainer Mikaël Mescam.

The final session of Arqana's February Sale begins on Tuesday at 10am.

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