The curtain came down on this year's Arqana Breeding Stock Sale on Tuesday where the demand for fillies-in-training, broodmares and foals in particular brought strong trade to Deauville over the course of the four-day sale.
Prix de Diane heroine Sparkling Plenty (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) led the way overall, having been sold on Saturday for €5 million to Michel Zerolo of Oceanic Bloodstock alongside Coolmore's MV Magnier on behalf of “a new partnership”.
All told, five fillies or mares cleared seven figures at a sale where all of the key metrics were on the rise. Of the 866 that were offered, 782 were sold at a clearance rate of 82% while the average climbed a massive 21% to €85 769. Meanwhile, the median climbed by €6,000 to €26,000 while the aggregate was up by 17% to €55,149,500.
The concluding session on Tuesday was headed by 15-year-old stallion Dabirsim (Fr) (Hat Trick {Jpn}), who was knocked down to Dr Khaled Salami, signing as KGS, at €160,000.
A statement released by Arqana on Tuesday read, “The Vente d'Élevage has become an unmissable event for the biggest buyers across the world, whom we have had the pleasure of welcoming over the last few days.
“In the space of just a few years, Arqana has succeeded in creating a first class platform for fillies in and out of training as well as mares. We saw very good prices on Saturday for fillies that will run on, notably to continue their careers in Australia and the United States, such as the four fillies that made over €1 million, Sparkling Plenty, Classic Flower (GB), Excellent Truth (Ire) and Spanish Eyes (Ger) among others. The broodmares also sold very well, including Tres Magnifique (Fr), the dam of Tamfana (Ger), that sold for €1,400,000, and Strawberry Lace (GB), the dam of Unquestionable (Fr), that was knocked down for €900,000.”
The statement continued, “Following on from the October Yearling Sale and the British and Irish markets, demand was also very strong for foals. In total, 19 foals made more than €100,000, double last year's number, with an average that was up 40% and a median that doubled at €29,000.
“We wish every success to our buyers, on the racecourse firstly as a lot of their purchases will race on, and also as well as future broodmares. We would also like to warmly thank our vendors for their confidence in us.
“Finally, many thanks to the Arqana teams and the studs that worked in weather conditions that were not always ideal, and that did a remarkable job.”
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