Haras du Sabouas was the leading vendor at last year's Osarus Breeze-up Sale and Paul Basquin's operation duly retained its crown in 2016, with a pair of leading lights from an 11-strong draft topping the one-day auction at €60,000.
One of France's young up-and-coming sires shared top billing with an old favourite, with the Wootton Bassett (GB) colt named Castle Dream (Fr) (lot 18) matching the price given for a daughter of Haras du Thenney veteran Orpen (lot 40).
Christophe Ferland, who trains at La Teste de Buch racecourse where the sale took place, will guide the career of the Wootton Bassett colt, a €38,000 yearling purchase who is the first foal of the winning Beat Hollow (GB) mare Haut La Main (Fr), a half-sister to listed winner Bien Nanti (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).
Paul Basquin was the signatory for the Orpen filly, but he was buying on behalf of a client of Haras du Sabouas, Mousquetaire Investments. The filly's half-sister Kasina (Ire) (Excellent Art {GB}) is in training in France with Thomas Demeaulte and has won her second race since publication of the catalogue.
A larger number of horses catalogued has led to selective trade at a number of the European breeze-up sales this season and this held true in Bordeaux, where the clearance rate dropped to 68%, with 61 of the 89 horses offered finding new homes. The median fell to €12,000 from €15,000, and the average dropped to €17,725 from €22,725. With 17 more horses sold than last year, the aggregate was up at €1,049,500 from €973,000––the first time this sale has achieved turnover into seven figures.
Nicolas Bellanger has been training just outside Lyon for the last two years and he played a leading role at the sale, signing for three juveniles, including two of the top ten sold. His most expensive purchase was lot 57, Elusive Lover (Fr) (Elusive City {Ire}), a colt out of Party Lover (Fr) (Tobougg {Ire}), who is a half-sister to the top-class Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Zagora (Fr) (Green Tune), from Yann Creff's consignment.
Bellanger also bought a first-crop daughter of Haras de la Cauviniere resident Rajsaman (Fr) (lot 11) for €40,000. The filly hails from a family which has scored highly in France over the years and includes the Group 1-winning siblings Fragrant Mix (Fr) and Alpine Rose, both of whom are by Linamix (Fr), as is the filly's grandam Fragrancia (Fr), which means Bellanger's new signing is inbred 2×3 to the late stalwart of the French stallion ranks.
Haras de Saint Arnoult's colt by Medecis (GB) out of a half-sister to listed winner Saphira's Fire (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) attracted the attention of Marc-Antoine Berghracht, who went to €52,000 for lot 41, already named Rockdale (Fr).
Alain Chopard of Haras des Faunes went to the same price for lot 95, an Exceed And Excel (Aus) filly from the well-credentialed family of Caulfield and Melbourne Cup winner Might And Power (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact {JPN}). The March-born filly was one of five in the top ten lots from the Sabouas draft, which had nine lots sell for a total of €336,000.
Koshka Returns To La Teste
This time last year Koshka (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) topped the Osarus Breeze-up Sale at €65,000 when bought by Jean-Claude Rouget. Twelve months on she once again played a leading part, this time at the head of a small section of horses in training (lot 125). Despite being a winner and three-time runner-up in her six starts, Koshka sold from Rouget's stable to Zied Romdhane for the reduced sum of €15,000 and was the most expensive of the 13 sold from 20 offered. The in-training section added a total of €71,000 to the day's proceeds.
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