Arqana October Yearling Sale | Horse Racing Free Tips

Arqana October Concludes

DEAUVILLE, France—A numerically enhanced Arqana October Sale drew to a close in Deauville on Friday with encouraging figures in a year which cannot shake off the spectre of Covid-19. As 9pm curfews are about to be reinstated across the regions of France where the virus is spreading most quickly, the curtain has come down just in time on the major yearling sales of the season. What the situation will be come the breeding stock sales is anyone’s guess but, for now, Arqana has managed to stage its October Sale in its usual slot, with the number of yearlings and sessions increased to accommodate those horses which would originally have been earmarked for the Osarus September Sale in La Teste de Buch, which wasn’t able to be staged in situ this year.

The October Sale in Deauville has been conducted over four days in the recent past and, as a guide only rather than for a direct comparison, 414 yearlings were sold in last year’s edition for a total of €17,465,500 at an average of €40,959.

Twelve months on and the five days of trade brought turnover of €18,474,000 for 578 horses sold, at a consistently encouraging daily clearance rate about 80%, which levelled out to 82% for the week, with an average of €31,249 and median of €20,000. The final day boasted the strongest clearance of all at 84%, with an aggregate of €1,142,500 from 83 horses sold at an average of €13,765 and median of €12,000.

The top lot of the final session of the Arqana October Sale will be joining trainer Philippe Decouz who, with agent Laurent Benoit of Broadhurst agency, bought the Dark Angel (Ire) colt for €70,000 on behalf of footballer Antoine Griezmann, who already has 11 horses in training with Decouz.

Lot 685 was the final lot through the ring for Lady O’Reilly’s Haras de la Louivere, and is out of the winning Lawman (Fr) mare Larose (GB), a half-sister to the listed Prix Finlande winner Monroe Bay (GB) (Makfi {GB}).

Commenting on the week’s business in Deauville, Arqana’s President Eric Hoyeau and Executive Director Freddy Powell said in a joint statement, “We are immensely grateful towards our vendors, who have maintained their faith in Arqana and showed tremendous resilience throughout the season. It has been a long week and we are very much aware of the uneasy financial situation breeders and pinhookers are faced with due to the high production costs, but their adaptability has allowed the market to play its role and all these yearlings can now move on to the next stage of their career. We also wish to thank all buyers and underbidders, on the grounds on online, for their relentless competitiveness. It is specifically heartening to see a new generation of trainers step forward–there is no doubt that the measures recently announced by France Galop to bolster 2-year-old racing in France will have encouraged them even further. Finally, our heartfelt gratitude goes to all members of the Arqana team, who have been on deck every day with a positive attitude, as well as to our partners headed by caterer Henri Morel and his staff, who keep doing their best to serve our clients in spite of the logistical constraints.”

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Clearance Remains High At Arqana

DEAUVILLE, France—The prices may have dipped significantly at Arqana on the Thursday but the activity at the sales grounds did not. If anything there were more people in attendance than on previous days, with the boost in French 2-year-old premiums to 70% perhaps acting as an incentive for owners to take a chance on a prospect for next season.

Certainly buyers were out in force and the clearance rate climbed again for this third tier of the sale, though it has to be said that not many below the top 20 lots of the day would have made any kind of profit for their breeder once nominations, keep fees and sales expenses have been taken into account. That said, if you breed a horse in France, even if the sales price is not profitable there is always the chance that the horse keeps earning for you through breeders’ premiums.

One of the joint top-lots of the day (635) from Haras de Grandcamp is off to race in Poland, where his half-sister Furia (Fr) (Campanologist) won the Oaks among her five 3-year-old victories. Daniela Nowara signed the ticket for the son of Mastercraftsman (Ire) out of the G2 Prix Corrida winner Fair Breeze (Ger) (Silvano {Ger}) on behalf of his new owner at €42,000.

The same price was bid by Victor Langlais of Langlais Bloodstock and Ludovic Gadbin for lot 640, Haras de la Haie Neuve’s son of the first-season War Front stallion Whitecliffsofdover. His dam Flute Divine (GB) (Royal Applause {GB}) was herself a winner at two and has produced the four-time winner and former breezer Another Planet (Fr) (Cockney Rebel {GB}).

The shortest session of the week so far saw 87 of the 105 yearlings offered find a buyer, at a clearance rate of 83%. Turnover was €1,221,500, the average price was €14,040 and median €13,000.

With another short session still to come on Friday, the aggregate for the sale as a whole to date stands at €16,919,500, a sum which is closing in on last year’s tally, albeit from a rather different sale format.

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Lope De Vega Stars On Track And In The Ring

DEAUVILLE, France—The second part of the Arqana October Yearling Sale concluded on Wednesday with consistent results across the two-day section. Again, the clearance rate was encouragingly high at 82%, with 131 horses sold for €3,179,000 at an average of €24,269 and median of €20,000.

Lope De Vega (Ire) had been represented by his fifth juvenile stakes winner of the season when Godolphin’s unbeaten Parchemin (Ire) landed the listed Prix Isonomy at Deauville and several hours later across the road at Arqana, another of the stallion’s young chestnut sons led the third day of trade.

Bred by Framont Limited and offered through Haras de Castillon, lot 465 joined a large intake of sales yearlings for Al Shaqab Racing this season after Paul Hensey and Nicolas de Watrigant went to €95,000 to secure the half-brother to the stakes-placed Mohab (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}).

“He was a lovely individual and Lope De Vega is a proven sire who does it day in and day out. He’s also out of a mare by Mr Greeley, which always adds a bit of brilliance to a pedigree,” said Hensey of the son of the unraced Princess Aurora, a half-sister to American listed winners Willard Straight (Lion Cavern) and Jesse’s Justice (Lear Fan).

Commenting on the increased activity by Al Shaqab at the yearling sales this season, Hensey, who was appointed chief operating officer in June, added, “We’ve bought almost 40 yearlings. We were keen to support our own stallions and Sheik Joaan is very conscious of the fact that times are hard for breeders.”

Al Shaqab also bought lot 452, a filly by its freshman stallion Al Wukair (Ire) and from the family of another of its former stallions, Style Vendome (Fr), from the Fairway Consignment for €60,000.

Owner Manfred Schmelzer enjoyed success over the weekend in Germany with a French-bred when his juvenile filly Noble Heidi (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) won the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin and he sent his trainer Henk Grewe in pursuit of the day’s second-top lot, a Rajsaman (Fr) colt who is closely related to that sire’s dual Classic winner Brametot (Ire). The latter is now standing in Germany at Gestut Ebbesloh after spending his first two seasons at Haras de Bouquetot.

Lot 436, offered by his breeder Haras de la Perelle, is a son of the unraced Morning Sun (Ger) (Law Society {Ire}), who is a full-sister to the dam of Brametot as well as being a half-sister to Germany’s pre-eminent stallion of the modern era, (Monsun {Ger}). This same family was represented in the one of the opening day’s top lots, as Matauri Pearl (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), the dam of the €450,000 Sea The Stars filly, is a grand-daughter of Morning Sun’s half-sister Morning Queen (Ger) (Konigsstuhl {Ger}).

Born To Sea (Ire) has undergone a semi-reinvention since being relocated from Ireland to Haras des Faunes in France, with a number of his offspring enjoying successful careers over jumps. Francois Nicolle, one of the country’s leading National Hunt trainers, has added a yearling filly to his string in the shape of lot 514, a grand-daughter of the classy sprinter Superstar Leo (Ire) (College Chapel {GB}), whose family has featured prominently in France of late via the treble G1 Prix de la Foret winner One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).

Nicolas de Watrigant, who bought the filly for €70,000 on behalf of the trainer said, “Francois Nicolle has had success this year with offspring of Born to Sea, such as [listed hurdle winner] Born to Hold (Ire). He had seen her at Haras des Faunes and really wanted to buy her.”

The daughter of Speed Song (GB) (Fasliyev) was bred by the Tsui family’s Sunderland Holdings and was consigned by Haras des Faunes, where Born To Sea covered a book in excess of 150 mares this year.

Among those stallions with first yearlings this season is the Derby winner Wings Of Eagles (Fr), who spent one season at the stud where he was born and bred, Haras de Montaigu, before being switched to Coolmore’s National Hunt roster in Ireland. A member of his debut crop will be heading to the Melbourne stable of Danny O’Brien after being bought by Jeremy Brummitt for €60,000. The same trainer/agent combination has enjoyed notable success with northern hemisphere-bred Russian Camelot (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), the winner of two Group 1 races in Australia and favourite for this Saturday’s G1 Cox Plate.

Bred by Mathieu Daguzan-Garros of Haras des Granges, the Wings Of Eagles colt (lot 432) is out of the Red Ransom mare Mix-feeling (Ire) and his 2-year-old half-brother Mexico City (Fr) (No Nay Never) was recently third in the G3 Killavullan S. for Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore team.

“He wasn’t just my pick of the day, he would have fitted in very well on day one,” said Brummitt. “He didn’t need the update to make us follow the horse strongly. It is inconceivable that a horse who was good enough to win the Derby cannot command a full book of Flat mares in his first season, particularly when you look at some of the stallions he was up against.”

Brummitt has bought two colts in partnership with O’Brien at Arqana this week, the other being a colt by Intello (Ger) (lot 47) during Monday’s opening session. The pair also bought eight yearlings at the Tattersalls October Sale.

Tina Rau was another to sign for a yearling by Wings Of Eagles, also at €60,000. The first foal of the Medicean (GB) mare Sajida (Fr) (lot 485) hails from the family of Arc winner Sagamix (Fr) and also that of Newsells Park Stud’s star broodmare Shastye (Ire), whose Galileo (Ire) yearling colt recently topped Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale at 3.4 million gns.

Rau said of the February-born colt, who will be trained in Chantilly by Nicolas Clement, “He was my pick of the day, an absolute star horse. Overall I have been very impressed with the yearlings by Wings Of Eagles. I didn’t necessarily have him on my list of horses to follow but they all seem to have a lot of quality to their coat and skin, and I always think that’s a good sign. This one was the easiest-moving of the Wings Of Eagles bunch and his pedigree makes easy reading too. He’s obviously going to take a little bit of time but I am very glad we got him.”

Part 3 of the October Sale gets underway from 2pm on Thursday, and the sale concludes on Friday.

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Adlerflug Flies High At Arqana

DEAUVILLE, France—France is one of the few countries in Europe where it is still relatively easy for people to go racing, so a short stroll down the road to Hippodrome La Touques from the Arqana sales complex was a perfect pre-sales outing, with the day’s two black-type races well timed to be observed before action got underway in the ring.

The winner of the G3 Prix des Reservoirs, Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}), not only provided her first-season sire Territories (Ire) with his first group winner but also gave a boost to last year’s Arqana August Sale, where she was bought from Haras de l’Hotellerie for €55,000. She had also been the first winner for Territories on June 10 at Chantilly, when she posted her first of three victories, as well as running third in the G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc weekend.

Back at Arqana, the trade dropped a notch during the second sessionn of the October Sale, where the day’s takings for 115 horses sold came to €3,046,000. The average was €26,487 and the median was €20,000, both of which are tricky to assess in comparison to last year’s markedly different sales format. A promising marker, which has been a factor at most of the 2020 yearling sales across Europe, was the clearance rate of 82%. Horses are still being traded, albeit at a reduced level in a challenging year.

The market leader for much of the day was Haras de Bourgeauville’s colt by Adlerflug (Ger), the sole offering by the leading German stallion in the catalogue. The Francis Graffard-trained In Swoop (Ger), who became the first French-based winner of the G1 Deutsches Derby and then gave Sottsass (Fr) (SIyouni {Fr}) a run for his money when second in the Arc, showed just what the under-used stallion is capable of, and the session-topping colt was one of nine purchases by Federico Barberini so far at this sale. Offered as lot 248, the half-brother to the Listed Brown Panther S. winner Alveena (GB) (Medicean {GB}) will be trained in England after being bought for €85,000 for an undisclosed client of the Italian agent.

The colt’s dam Aliyfa (Ire) (Spinning World), a half-sister to the G1 Irish St Leger and G1 Prix du Cadran winner Alandi (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), was bought by Bourgeauville from the Aga Khan Studs at the 2017 Goffs November Sale for €125,000 when carrying to Siyouni (Fr). The stud sold the resultant filly for €120,000 at the August Sale last year.

Two fillies shared the second spot on the leader board at €75,000, the first to reach that mark being a Wildenstein-bred daughter of Authorized (Ire) (lot 287) out of the lightly-raced Peintre Celebre mare Blue Picture (Ire). The filly’s grandam is the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Prix de l’Opera winner Bright Sky (Ire) (Wolfhound), and she was bought by Mags O’Toole from the La Motteraye Consignment.

Al Shaqab Racing has been active throughout the October Sale at Arqana and bought the top lot on day one, the €525,000 colt by Siyouni (Fr), as well as signing for one of the more prominent yearlings of Tuesday’s session, with 16 horses bought across the two days.

Lot 333, picked up for €75,000, had extra commercial appeal as a daughter of the record-breaking first-season sire Mehmas (Ire), and she is out of the four-time winner Epatha (Ire) (Highest Honor {Fr}), who was bred by and raced for the late Marquesa de Moratalla and has thus far produced four winners. The filly was bought as a foal last December by Tina Rau for €20,000.

Part 2 of the October Yearling Sale continues in Deauville on Wednesday from 2 p.m.

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