Domestic buyers dominated the concluding Part 2 session of this year's October Yearling Sale at Arqana on Thursday where a Pinatubo (Ire) filly offered by the La Motteraye Consignment sold to Emeric Guétin on behalf of Ecurie des Charmes for €125,000.
Pinatubo is just three winners off Sergei Prokofiev–who has 21–in a wide-open first-season sires' championship in Britain and Ireland. From just seven runners in France, he has sent out four individual winners, including some highly-touted performers.
Thursday's top lot hails from a family Lucien Urano of Ecurie des Charmes knows well. Along with Ballylinch Stud, he bred Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), and he returned to that family to secure the already-named Matauri Queen (Fr).
That result headlined another strong day in the ring at Arqana where the average, aggregate and median was up on last year.
“She's a lovely looking filly and I've bought her for Ecurie des Charmes,” Guetin said. “She ticks a lot of boxes, walks well and comes from a good family. We'll decide on her trainer later on and we hope that she will be successful on the racecourse and then as a broodmare.”
The aggregate was up almost 10% on this corresponding day of trade last year to €4,514,500 while the average climbed 23% to €32,953 and the median jumped by €6,000 to €28,000.
Just three yearlings managed to break the six-figure mark on the day, with the threesome completed by a pair of Toronado (Ire) fillies at €120,000 and €100,000 respectively. Lot 474 was consigned by Castillon and she went the way to Peretti Bloodstock at €120,000 while Arcadia Élevage's offering [lot 363] was knocked down to Pauline Chehboub [Yellow Agency].
Chehboub said, “She's a filly that has a lot of qualities–she's lovely looking and walks well. She's well-bred and her brother [Mouillage] is a good horse. We've bought her for a partnership of family friends-it's the first time that they have been to the sales and we wanted to show them our world. This filly stood out and we weren't the only ones who thought so! We're very happy.”
Breeze-Up Buyers On The Back Foot
One of the main talking points heading into Arqana this week was the fact many breeze-up handlers are down on numbers compared to this time last year and, while many big names managed to get on the scoresheet, legend of the game Willie Browne suggests there will be a major dip in the amount of horses offered in that sector next spring.
The Mocklershill boss revealed that he is down on numbers by roughly a third and described the trade at Arqana this week as extremely strong for the stock that was on offer.
He said, “I am well down on numbers compared to last year. I'd say I'm down by a third. Now, I am trying to buy quality, which is never that easy, but I'm way down and so are a lot of other breeze-up handlers. I don't have to have the numbers like I used to, so I'm not panicking, but the quality horses that I target have gone very expensive.”
The big reason behind breeze-up handlers finding themselves on the back foot this year, according to Browne, is down to the fact the European yearling sale market in particular hit a major upsurge halfway during the season.
He explained, “Anything that had a bit of quality at the Goffs Orby Part 1 Sale, the vendors got very well paid, and the September Yearling Sale at Tattersalls Ireland was a very good sale as well. But then things went to a different level at Book 1 at Tattersalls and that carried over into Book 2 because people didn't have a chance to spend their money at Book 1. Now we come to France, where the stock is probably a little bit inferior to what we had at Newmarket, but I wouldn't say this lightly, this October Yearling Sale at Arqana has probably been the strongest sale of them all. You go in to buy a horse here and you need double to what you value them at. For what was on offer here, it was very, very strong.”
But Browne's trip to Deauville was not in vain as he came back home to Ireland with a Siyouni (Fr) colt and a Hello Youmzain (Fr) filly for €290,000 and €70,000 respectively.
He continued, “I bought two so far–a Siyouni for €290,000, which is huge money for us, and everything will need to work out for us to make money on him. But he's a nice horse. Then we bought a sharp-looking Hello Youmzain filly on Wednesday night for €70,000. Again, would we have to have given it at Donny earlier in the year? Probably not. It's a big gamble.”
Browne added, “Everyone I have spoken to in France is down on numbers. A lot of people couldn't get horses into breeze-up sales this year but I would be amazed if we could fill all of the breeze-up sales next year. Listen, I hope I'm wrong but I can't see where the horses are to fill all of these sales for next year.”
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