Lady O’Reilly Remembered as Arqana Returns to Action

DEAUVILLE, France–First went the Irish, then the French. For some, it was a woeful weekend in the sporting world outside horseracing as the Rugby World Cup quarter finals left only England standing among the European nations to go forward to the next round at the Stade de France. 

Plenty of sales folk huddled around the screen at Deauville racecourse on Sunday evening to see the home team's dreams shattered, but by Monday morning the focus was fully back on the horses and the next week of yearling action ahead. 

Before the rugby started, those present at Arqana had gathered in remembrance of Lady Chryss O'Reilly, who died only days after attending the August Sale. Frederique de Chambure, Henri Bozo, Marina Marinopoulos, Nicolas Clement and Aliette Forien all spoke movingly of their longstanding friendship with the owner-breeder and in the bright sunshine of Monday morning, it was hard not to feel that an extra shadow had been cast over Yard B on the sales grounds. The Haras de la Louviere yearlings were there as usual, in their traditional spot, but for the first time their breeder is not present. 

Orchestrating the viewings and juggling cards like the dab hand that he is, Mick O'Dwyer paused for a moment to reflect on his long association with Lady O'Reilly's draft.

“I've been doing this now for 17 years,” he said. “It's business as usual in a way, but she is very much missed. Everybody loved her.”

Sixteen yearlings are being presented by Haras de la Louviere this week, including a filly from the final crop of Le Havre (Ire) whose first three dams were all bred by Lady O'Reilly. As lot 473, she comes through later in the week, on Thursday, and is a daughter of Hailstorm (GB), a treble winner and herself a daughter of Verglas (Ire), winner of the G2 Coventry S. in the familiar black-and-white hoops.

With Ecurie des Monceaux, Lady O'Reilly's Skymarc Farm bred Vespertilio (Fr) (Nigh Of Thunder {Ire}), who won the G2 Debutante S. just a few days before her co-breeder's passing. That filly's half-brother by Camelot (GB) will be one of the earliest horses into the ring on Tuesday when presented by Monceaux as lot 14.

We also cannot mention the Monceaux draft without a reminder that lot 59 is a full-brother to Sottsass (Fr). He was bred by the farm from the celebrated mare Starlet's Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and is offered alongside three yearlings in the draft from the first crop of his Arc-winning brother.

Arqana's October Sale usually plays second fiddle to its flashier August cousin but October is challenging for bragging rights this year as the sale from which Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) graduated two years ago, also from Monceaux. August of course played its trump card a little later with Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}). Only on Sunday, Iresine (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) gave another reminder of why it is worth seeing out the week and trying to unearth a bargain in the later parts of the sale. To his G1 Prix Ganay victory in the spring he added the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris, and he is now taking aim at Equinox (Jpn) and Liberty Island (Jpn) in the Japan Cup. At his best yet at the age of six, Iresine was picked up as a yearling at the Arqana October Sale for €6,000 and his earnings, including those vital French owners' premiums, are now in excess of €1,000,000.

As the season rolls on, more and more new stallions are being announced for 2024. France in particular looks set to benefit from a bumper new crop. We already know that Ace Impact is off to Haras de Beaumont, which will doubtless be inundated with visitors once breeders descend on Deauville for the breeding stock sale in early December. Jean-Claude Rouget's top three-year-old of the previous season, the Prix du Jockey Club and Eclipse winner Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}), joins Siyouni (Fr) and Zarak (Fr) at the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval.

While doing the yearling rounds on Monday morning, Fabrice Chappet said that he was looking forward to one last outing with his stable star Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita before he takes up residence at Haras d'Etreham, while Lusail (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) has just been announced as the latest recruit to Al Shaqab's Haras de Bouquetot. In recent months, plenty have made reference to the need for France to plug the gaps left by the likes of Le Havre and Wootton Bassett (GB). In the case of the latter, the Prix de l'Abbaye winner Wooded (Ire) will be among an increasing number of a number of sons of Wootton Bassett attempting to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious father. He has his first runners next year, and 37 members of his first crop are up for grabs in Deauville this week.

Wooded, who is another Haras de Bouquetot stallion, was given an extra boost on the pedigree side this year courtesy of his brother Bucanero Fuerte (GB), winner of the G1 Phoenix S. and G2 Railway S. during a productive season. 

“That's what we are looking for now in France,” says Al Shaqab's Benoit Jeffroy. “Wootton Bassett is gone and Siyouni is getting to an age where he hasn't got another 10 years in front of him, so we are looking for the new boys.

“Wooded has a proper chance. He has some good-looking stock. They have the depth and they can move. He had the speed, so let's hope he can pass it on.”

At the same time as Wooded retired, Al Shaqab also took charge of a stallion prospect with a slightly different profile in Robert Ng's Romanised (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who was a star for Ken Condon's stable over four seasons. His major wins included the Irish 2,000 Guineas, followed the next year by the G1 Prix Jaques Le Marois and G2 Minstrel S., and he returned to win the latter for a second time at five.

“We are very  happy to be able to stand a horse like Romanised,” said Jeffroy. “We can only thank Mr Ng and Rupert Pritchard-Gordon for entrusting him to us and to France. Actually his stock have sold really well, because he only stands for €7,000, so the return on investment has been good for the breeders so far. It's hard to find a Guineas winner and a Jacques Le Marois winner, and he has been very well received.

“We all know that we have to go through a number of stallions to find horses that will be the next good ones, the improvers, so we keep dreaming now.”

Romanised's sole August Sale yearling, a half-sister to the Group 2 winner Boscaccio (Fr), was paid rather a compliment when bought by Edouard de Rothschild's Haras de Meautry for €170,000, and he had another four sold through the V.2 Sale for €87,000, €65,000, €55,000 and €27,000. He looks a stallion to keep an eye on and has another 37 slated to sell this week.

Frankel (GB) was all the rage, as usual, during Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, where one of his sons became the most expensive yearling sold in Europe this year. There is just one Frankel on offer this week in Deauville and unsurprisingly he is bred in the purple. Catalogued as lot 95 from La Motteraye Consignment, the colt is a half-brother to the dual Grade I winner A Raving Beauty (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}).

Another with the potential to star towards the end of Tuesday's session is lot 210, a filly from the first crop of Ghaiyyath (Ire) whose brother New Mandate (Ire), by another Dubawi-line stallion in New Bay (GB) is a group winner in England and Australia, while further generations of the family include dual French Classic victrix Avenir Certain (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) and successful young sire Mehmas (Ire).

Business gets underway at 11am on Tuesday, while the following three days all begin at 2pm before a final 11am session again on Saturday.

 

The post Lady O’Reilly Remembered as Arqana Returns to Action appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

From Earthlight to Wooded: 14 New Sires Represented at Arqana

DEAUVILLE, France–In a departure from the normal schedule, Arqana's August extravaganza kicks off a day early this year, on Friday. With a handful of shows having taken place on Tuesday, viewing began in earnest on Wednesday morning, with Joseph O'Brien first out of the blocks and on parade at the Haras des Capucines draft while most people were still having breakfast.

While many of the families of the horses catalogued will be familiar to potential purchasers, each new season brings with it a wave of new stallion names to grapple with, and there are 14 freshman sires with members of their first crop on offer in Deauville this week. Sottsass (Fr) is detailed in the accompanying feature, and on the same day that he recorded his most prestigious win in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, at the other end of the distance spectrum Wooded (Ire) was winning the Prix de l'Abbaye for Al Shaqab Racing. With his sire Wootton Bassett (GB) now having moved from France to Coolmore's Irish base, the sprinter was doubtless a welcome addition to Normandy's stallion ranks. Two of his yearlings are in the August catalogue and another nine feature in the V.2 sale next Tuesday, and Wooded was given an extra boost over the weekend when his full-brother Bucanero Fuerte (GB) won the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S.

The poster celebrating his latest major success after also winning the G2 Railway S. is already on display at the consignment of Haras d'Etreham, which sold Bucanero Fuerte last August for €165,000 and will offer his Dubawi (Ire) half-sister on Saturday as lot 214.

“We were so sure that he would win that we had it made in advance,” said Nicolas de Chambure with a smile, and he has plenty to be happy about at present.

In what may help other sons of Siyouni (Fr) coming through, Etreham's City Light (Fr) has made a decent start with his runners this season, with his eight runners to date representing a strike-rate of 40% to put him in front in the French first-season sires' table. Coming through hard on his heels are his fellow residents, Persian King (Ire) and Hello Youmzain (Fr), who have 19 and 21 first-crop yearlings respectively in the August catalogue. These include lot 50, Etreham's speedy-looking Hello Youmzain half-sister to the G3 Prix Djebel winner Fast Raaj (Fr) (Iffraaj {GB}).

Another Group 1-winning sprinter to have joined the French ranks at the same time is Sumbe's Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde (Ire), himself by the July Cup winner Lethal Force (Ire) and out of a mare by another top sprinter, Pivotal (GB).

Of two yearlings catalogued, Golden Horde has one remaining, lot 29, a colt from the family of Bloomsbury Stud's Queen Mary winner Pushy (GB).

Along with the aforementioned Wooded, another Haras de Bouquetot stallion with first yearlings is the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Romanised (Ire), whose sole offering in August (lot 158) is from the family of Treve (Fr) and is a half-sister to the German Group 2 winner Boscaccio (Ger) (Mount Nelson {GB}).

Ghaiyyath (Ire), Horse of the Year in 2020, heads a trio of Darley stallions in the freshman division, along with two Group 1-winning sons of Shamardal in Earthlight (Ire) and Pinatubo (Ire). Among Earthlight's three is the penultimate yearling in the ring, lot 313, a half-brother to the G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Intellogent (Fr) (Intello {Ger}), while La Motteraye offers a Ghaiyyath half-sister to G3 Prix La Force winner Chilean (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) as lot 176.

Early in Sunday's session, Monceaux will offer one of a quartet of yearlings by the 2,000 Guineas winner Kameko in the sale. Lot 227 is out of a Galileo (Ire) half-sister to the GI Arkansas Derby winner Bodemeister. 

Among those with a single representative here in Deauville, but about whom we will doubtless be hearing plenty more as the season progresses, are Yeomanstown Stud's Shaman (Ire), Newsells Park Stud resident Without Parole (GB), Shadwell's Mohaather (GB), and Maximum Security, who is based at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in America. The latter's filly, in the Haras de l'Hotellerie draft as lot 246, was bred by Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals, whose Yeguada Cebturion operation is having a banner year as the breeders of Blue Rose Cen (Ire), Big Rock (Fr) and Ramatuelle, who runs in Sunday's G1 Sumbe Prix Morny.

The updates keep coming thick and fast for Arqana. On Wednesday at Salisbury, last year's August graduate Arabian Crown (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) won the Listed Stonehenge S., his second victory in three starts for Godolphin. Bought for €600,000, he was bred by Guy Heald from Dubai Rose (GB) (Dubai Destination), and his three-parts-brother by Night Of Thunder (Ire) features in the Monceaux draft as lot 196. Heald keeps mares at both Monceaux and La Motteraye and, through the latter, he is selling a colt from the same family who is a three-parts-brother to the Group 1 winner Sea La Rosa (Fr) and Group 2 winner Deauville Legend (Fr). That pair has Sea The Stars (Ire) as sire, and it is his son Sea The Moon (Ger) who is responsible for the yearling colt (lot 77) out of Soho Rose (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), a half-sister to Dubai Rose.

The Haras d'Etreham team wasn't the only one celebrating a Group 1 winner at the weekend. Haras de la Perelle's Simca Mille (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) took the Grosser Preis von Berlin on Sunday in the homeland of his owner/breeder Jurgen Winter. Perelle has topped the August Sale before, back in 2017 with a €1.55 million colt by Dubawi out of the G1 Falmouth S. winner Giofra (GB) (Dansili {GB}). The stud offers two members of that same family this week, including a Hello Youmzain half-brother to Giofra (lot 232), and is saving the Sea The Moon (Ger) half-brother to Simca Mille for the October Sale. 

As this year's star three-year-old Paddington (GB) has shown, there's certainly no harm in being a graduate of that later auction. For now, though, all eyes are on the August Sale, as Arqana is once again the bellwether for Europe's elite yearling sales.

The post From Earthlight to Wooded: 14 New Sires Represented at Arqana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Mating Plans: Haras de Castillon

Benoit Jeffroy's Haras de Castillon, a burgeoning force on the French racing and bloodstock scenes, burst into international prominence in December when it consigned the Group 1-winning Grand Glory (Ire) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, where she sold for €2.5-million. The quickly growing Castillon has only been in existence under its current guise since 2015, but the Jeffroy family has a history of breeding quality racehorses from their SCEA des Prairies, with just one recent example being Zelda (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}), a listed winner last year at two bred by Castillon and SCEA des Prairies and raced by the Jeffroys in partnership with basketball star Tony Parker. Jeffroy is assisted at Castillon by Amelie Lemercier-and both also work at Sheikh Joaan's Haras de Bouquetot-and Jeffroy and Lemercier shared details of Castillon's 2022 mating plans.

TEXALOULA (FR) (m, 18, Kendor {Fr}-Texalouna {Fr}, by Kaldoun {Fr}), visits Sea The Moon (Ger)
Texaloula is the dam of Dubai Group 2 winner Frankyfourfingers (Fr) (Sunday Break {Jpn}). She is also the second dam of G3 Prix de Psyche winner and €1.2-million Arc sale topper Penja (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) and listed winners Taos (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}) and Texas (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) through two of her daughters. “Texaloula will visit Sea The Moon, a proven sire at good value, and we hope to have another filly,” said Castillon's Jeffroy.

TEXALOVA (GB) (m, 8, Dream Ahead-Texaloula {Fr}, by Kendor {Fr}), visits Wooded (Fr)
Texalova is an unraced daughter of Texaloula and is the dam of last year's listed-winning 2-year-old Texas. Texalova is currently in foal to Mehmas (Ire) and visits G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner Wooded in his second season this year. “Wooded is by Wootton Bassett so we will try to breed on the same line to get a three-quarter sibling to Texas,” Jeffroy said. “Wooded was a talented sprinter and I believe he has a big chance to make it.”

JUST WITH YOU (IRE) (m, 10, Sunday Break {Jpn}-Texaloula {Fr}, by Kendor {Fr}), visits Zelzal (Fr)
Just With You, a daughter of Texaloula and a half-sister to Texalova, is the dam of Taos and Penja. “Just With You is probably our best mare,” said Jeffroy. “She has a beautiful Wootton Bassett yearling filly and she is in foal to Siyouni. She will visit Zelzal. We are big supporters of Zelzal, having bred Zelda and having invested into him. We will support him strongly again this year with eight mares.”

AWE STRUCK (GB) (m, 12, Rail Link {GB}-Aspiring Diva, by Distant View), visits Victor Ludorum (Fr)
Awe Struck is the dam of German Group 3 winner and GI Canadian International second Alounak (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) and is barren this year. “Awe Struck will be bred to Victor Ludorum, who should bring her some precocity and speed,” Jeffroy said. “He is from a great stallion family and had a terrific turn of foot as a 2-year-old.”

GALILEO'S MOON (IRE) (m, 11, Galileo {Ire}-Adoration, by Honor Grades), visits Toronado (Fr)
Galileo's Moon is a daughter of Breeders' Cup winner Adoration who was purchased for $37,000 at Keeneland November in 2018. Galileo's Moon is in foal to Blue Point and visits Toronado. “I think Toronado is the best value stallion on the French roster,” Jeffroy said. “I have done the same cross with a filly named Jouza and she is a very promising filly, a winner on her second start as a 2-year-old last year.”

NEKO (FR) (m, 9, Dansili {GB}-Epopee {Ire}, by Sadler's Wells), visits Zelzal (Fr)
Neko is the dam of the listed-winning and G2 Prix Eugene Adam second Caprice Des Dieux (Fr) (Declaration Of War), and her second foal, the 3-year-old Gemmyo (Fr) (Shalaa {Ire}), is a winner. She has a 2-year-old colt by Wootton Bassett and is in foal to Hello Youmzain. “She has got the walk but she needs some strength,” Jeffroy said. “Zelzal will inject some speed and strength.”

SPACE ANGEL (FR) (m, 4, Shalaa {Ire}-Space Quest {GB}, by Rainbow Quest), visits Ten Sovereigns (Ire)
A maiden mare from the family of Enable (GB) and Flintshire (GB) who ran three times last year, Space Angel will be bred to Ten Sovereigns for her first mating. “Space Angel showed a lot of potential in the mornings but was too keen in the afternoons,” Jeffroy said. “We have four nice foals on the farms by him [Ten Sovereigns], and I liked what I saw at the sales as well.”

SUNDAZE (FR) (m, 4, Shalaa {Ire}-Tropical Mark {GB}, by Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), visits Bated Breath (GB)
Sundaze is an unraced half-sister to the Group 1-placed Danza Cavallo (Fr) (Sunday Break {Jpn}), herself now the dam of Group 3 winner Cheshire Academy (Fr) (Flintshire {GB}). She visits Bated Breath, like Flintshire a son of Dansili, for her first covering.

ARLETTA (FR) (m, 4, Lethal Force {Ire}-Milena's Dream {Ire}, by Authorized {Ire}), visits Almanzor (Fr)
Arletta is a half-sister to GI EP Taylor S. winner Etoile (Fr) who was bought for €50,000 at Arqana in December in foal to Sottsass (Fr), a son of Etoile's sire Siyouni (Fr). She visits Almanzor in 2022.

AMARA (FR) (m, 4, Olympic Glory {Ire}-Lunaba {Fr}, by Anabaa), visits Hello Youmzain (Fr)
Amara is a half-sister to the dam of the GI Garden City S. winner Alterite (Fr) (Literato {Fr}) as well as the dual stakes-producer Dianaba (Fr) (Diktat {GB}). “She is from a great Louviere family,” said Jeffroy. “All her sisters who have been average race mares have been good producers including one who gave Group 1 winner Alterite. Amara has size and scope. She lacks strength behind so we will breed her to Hello Youmzain, who has plenty of speed and great, powerful conformation.”

RESTLESS (FR) (m, 6, Le Havre {Ire}-Reine Zao {Fr}, by Alzao), visits Romanised (Ire)
Restless is a half-sister to GI EP Taylor S. winner Reggane (GB) (Red Ransom) as well as to the dam of last year's G3 Prix des Reservoirs victress Rosacea (Ire) (Soldier Hollow {GB}). “She gave us a colt by Hello Youmzain as her first foal and will visit Romanised,” said Jeffroy. “We have five foals on the ground by him and I like them already.”

LEMON TWIST (IRE) (m, 14, Marju {Ire}-Lia {Ire}, by Desert King {Ire}), visits Ectot (GB)
Lemon Twist is the dam of G2 Prix de Malleret winner Al Wathna (GB) (Nayef). “Lemon Twist is a medium-sized, compact mare and Ectot is producing progeny with size and scope,” Jeffroy said. “He has started well with his first 3-year-olds.”

COMPLICATION (FR) (m, 4, No Nay Never-Sleek Gold (GB), by Dansili {GB}), visits Mehmas (Ire)
Complication is a winning and listed-placed half-sister to the Castillon-bred Ouraika (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}), who won the GIII Sweet Life S. at Santa Anita. Another half-sister, Simplicity (Fr) (Casamento {Ire}), is listed-placed. Complication visits Mehmas for her first mating.

The post Mating Plans: Haras de Castillon appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Mares In Foal For Wooded, Romanised

Group 1 winners Wooded (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Romanised (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) have each had 10 mares scanned in foal shortly after beginning their first covering seasons at Haras de Bouquetot. G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner Wooded's in-foal mares include the multiple group-placed juvenile Al Johrah (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}); group-winning 2-year-old and Classic-placed Salona (Ger) (Lord Of England {Ger}); and black-type mares Edya (GB) (Makfi {GB}) and Tosen Shauna (Ire) (Alhebayeb {Ire}).

The G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois scorer Romanised, meanwhile, has already successfully covered the Group 3-placed Spin (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), as well as the dam of Group 1 performers Volta (Fr) and Calvados Blues (Fr), and stakes winner Racemate (GB) (Hurricane Run {Ire}).

Wooded stands for €15,000, and Romanised for €7,000.

The post Mares In Foal For Wooded, Romanised appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights