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Curtain Lowers on Arqana December Sale

The frenetic pace of the breeding stock sale season finally came to a halt on Tuesday, as, after four days of selling during Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale, the last horse passed through the ring at Deauville.

Overall, the aggregate grew by 58.5% to €42,007,700, up from €25,253,500 during the first year of the Covid pandemic and the first time the sale breached the €40-million mark. There were 689 lots sold from 907 offered (76%), and 13 horses made at least €500,000, compared to six in 2020. The average of €60,314 rose 33% from 2020, and the median decreased slightly to €15,000 (-6.3%).

Saturday's quintet of seven-figure mares were led by G1 Prix de l'Opera heroine Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}), who was sold for €3,000,000 to the sale's leading buyers Peter Brant's White Birch Farm and MV Magnier. She was followed closely by the €2.5-million G1 Prix Jean Romanet victrix Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), while Gestut Ammerland bought out their partners when going to €2,050,000 for Wildfeder (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), a full-sister to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Waldgeist (GB).

New consignor Sumbe stood firmly on top of the leading vendors' table with six sold for an aggregate of €5,352,000. Haras de Capucines was next with 22 sold for €3,373,000, while Haras de Castillon's draft brought €3,155,500 for 18 lots.

Wednesday's session sported a higher clearance rate of 80.5% for 128 of 159 offered for a total of €586,000. Both the average at €4,578 and the median of €3,500 were down when compared to the corresponding session last year, by 28.6% and 22.2%, respectively.

Four mares made €20,000 or more led by lot 977, the winning Hurrym (Fr) (Hurricane Run {Ire}). A half-sister to the black-type winner Landym (Fr) (Lando {Ger}), the La Riviere-consigned bay brought €28,000 from George Mullins and is in foal to Rio de la Plata.

Nicola Fitzgerald snapped up Anna's Star (Ire) (Hernando {Fr}) for €26,000 from Haras du Petit Tellier. Lot 987, a daughter of the G3 Deutscher Stutenpreis heroine Anno Luce (GB) (Old Vic {GB}), herself out of the German champion Anna Paola (Ger) (Prince Ippi {Ger}), is carrying to The Grey Gatsby (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), whose first-crop runners this season include the listed winner Mylady (Ger).

Arqana Chairman Eric Hoyeau and Executive Director Freddy Powell said, “After a turbulent 2020, 2021 has been marked by tremendous resilience at all levels and concluded with an outstanding Vente d'Elevage that exceeded all our expectations. With five millionaire fillies in the first session and a turnover in excess of €40 million for the first time, the sale continued its upward trajectory and has now taken on a whole new dimension. All the ingredients were present and this resulted in very good prices in the ring. Four of the five fillies sold for a seven-figure price were acquired as yearlings at Deauville in August or October, and some owners did not hesitate to reinvest during the sale, such as with Tickle Me Green and Sun Bear. The quality of the catalogue attracted many buyers from the United States, Japan, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Turkey and all over France. We would like to thank our vendors who entrusted us with the best of their breeding and racing stock as well as all our teams who worked tirelessly to make this sale a success. We wish everyone a very happy holiday season and look forward to seeing you in February.”

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Trailblazing Choisir Dies At 22

The dual Royal Ascot winner, Group 1-winning sprinter and influential sire Choisir (Aus) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) has died at Coolmore Australia at the age of 22.

Trained by Paul Perry for Terry Wallace and Partners, Choisir can be considered an equine pioneer for the role he played in opening the floodgates through the early part of this century for Australian sprinters to travel north during the Southern Hemisphere winter and put the locals in their place.

A top-class 2-year-old who was placed in all three legs of Australia's juvenile Triple Crown, Choisir went on to win the G2 Emirates Classic and G1 Lightning S. at Flemington at three before departing for Britain. He first set foot on the English turf on June 17, 2003, and in three starts in just over three weeks, he ensured that his name would be remembered and revered for decades to come.

On the opening day of Royal Ascot, he was sent off an unconsidered 25/1 chance under Johnny Murtagh for the King's Stand S., which was then still a Group 2. A strong field which included Oasis Dream (GB), Elusive City, the previous year's winner Dominica (GB), and eventual runner-up Acclamation (GB), was blown away by the Aussie raider's dominant performance, which saw him break sharply and make all to win by a length.

More deference was paid when he returned to Ascot four days later, stepping up a furlong for the G1 Golden Jubilee S. Choisir still wasn't favourite, however, with the British crowds unused to a horse backing up so quickly in major races. That honour went to Henry Candy's 3-year-old filly Airwave, who was carrying 10lbs less than Choisir, whose Southern Hemisphere birth date meant that he was considered a 4-year-old despite still technically being three. The extra weight failed to halt him in notching a rare double at the Royal Meeting, the first time this had been achieved since the great Irish mare Stanerra won the G2 Prince of Wales's S. and G2 Hardwicke S. 20 years earlier.

Choisir met Oasis Dream and Airwave again in the G1 Darley July Cup on what would transpire to be the final start of his career, but this time he had to settle for second behind Juddmonte's Oasis Dream, who later dropped back in trip for an emphatic victory in the G1 Nunthorpe S. on his next outing.

Choisir's glorious form on both sides of the world made him of obvious appeal as a shuttle sire, following in the footsteps of both his sire Danehill Dancer and illustrious grandsire Danehill. He started his stallion career in Australia at Coolmore, where he covered for 17 seasons until his retirement just over a year ago. During that time he also shuttled for 10 years to Ireland, standing initially at Castle Hyde Stud, before joining Coolmore's main farm in 2008.

His 100 stakes winners in 12 different countries include 11 individual Group 1 winners. Choisir's Australian-bred son Starspangledbanner (Aus) emulated him by winning the Golden Jubilee S., and went one better in the July Cup, as well as winning two Group 1 sprints at Caulfield, before beginning his own successful shuttle career. Despite suffering fertility issues in his early years which halted his trips north, Starspangledbanner resumed covering at Coolmore in Ireland after a two-year break and his own leading offspring are headed by The Wow Signal (Ire) and State Of Rest (Ire).

Choisir is also represented at stud in Australia by Aquis Farm's Group 1 winner Divine Prophet (Aus), while four-time Group 1 winner Olympic Glory (Ire), the sire of G1 Prix Jean Romanet winner Grand Glory (GB), is at Haras de Bouquetot in France, and G2 Coventry S. winner Rajasinghe (Ire) is at the National Stud in England.

Another of his Royal Ascot winners, the Wokingham S. victrix Laddies Poker Two (Ire), went on to become the dam of the dual Classic winner and four-time Group 1 scorer Winter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and in this sphere Choisir's influence continues to be felt.

He is also the broodmare sire of G1 Prince of Wales's S. winner My Dream Boat (Ire) (Lord Shanakill) and July Cup winner Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}), while another of his daughters, the listed winner Choose Me (Ire), has produced two Group 1 winners to have starred on QIPCO British Champions Day in Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Creative Force (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), as well as the listed winner and group-placed Tisbutadream (Ire) (Dream Ahead).

“I was lucky enough to be at Ascot in 2003 to witness his incredible triumphs on the Tuesday and then the Saturday where he was ridden by Johnny Murtagh,” said Coolmore Australia's Tom Magnier. “It was a great achievement for his trainer Paul Perry and paved the way for future Australian sprinters to compete with distinction on the world stage.”
He added, “Since he retired to the farm in 2003 he has been a favourite with all those who have worked with him, especially our longtime stallion manager Gerry Ryan who was particularly fond of him. Choisir was the ultimate professional in all he did and every stud dreams of having a stallion like him. We are so grateful to him and he will be sorely missed by the entire Coolmore team.”

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Century Dream Retired to Norton Grove Stud

Group 2 winner Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}–Salacia {Ire}, by Echo of Light {GB}) has been retired and will stand at Norton Grove Stud next year. A stud fee for the G2 Celebration Mile and dual G3 Diomed S. victor will be announced later.

Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock Limited, the A. Belhab-raced 7-year-old's best performance was a third in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. in 2018, while throughout his 35-start career, he was also placed another four times at group level. Overall, Century Dream's record stands at 10 winners and another eight top three finishes to go with $723,357 in earnings.

Trainer Simon Crisford said, “Century Dream was an incredibly tough and consistent performer throughout his career winning five stakes races over a mile. He was a stable star for us over the past six seasons and was a pleasure to train. He is an extremely good-looking son of Cape Cross who will be a fabulous addition to Norton Grove's stallion roster.”

Added Bruce Raymond, Racing Manager of Rabbah Bloodstock of the half-brother to Group 1 winner King of Change (GB) (Farhh {GB}), “Century Dream was a wonderful racehorse. He was a Group 2-winning miler and amazingly consistent at the highest level– he never ran a bad race. He is a beautifully bred horse who I am sure will be a great addition to the stallion roster at Norton Grove Stud.”

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Breeding Season Prep Workshop to Be Offered By ITBA

The ITBA Educational Programme 2021: Breeding Season Preparation Workshop, was announced on Tuesday. Free to attend, the workshop lasts from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 16. Topics that will be covered are: assisting mares during foaling (Patricia Markey), preparing mares for foaling and postnatal care (Andrea Ryan), the best nutritional plan for pregnant mares during and post foaling and nutritional plans for foals (Lorraine Fradl) and smart approaches to getting mares back in foal plus the importance of selecting the most suitable stallions (Micheal Orlandi). To register, please email Kerry Ryan.

Commenting, ITBA's Kerry Ryan said, “Over the last numbers of years, the ITBA Breeding Season Preparation Workshop, supported by the Department of Agriculture, under its Equine Technical Support & Breeding Scheme Project, has become a key fixture in [the] ITBA Educational Programme. A panel of industry experts will address the key issues breeders need to take into consideration in advance of the upcoming breeding season. If there are any topics breeders feel should be included in next year's ITBA Educational Programme please contact ITBA HQ on 045 877543 as we would love to hear from them.”

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