Italian and Irish Farms Make Deauville Debut

DEAUVILLE, France—In a yearling sales season which has had more reshuffles than the British government's cabinet, the caravan has finally started rolling in the last week and has now pitched up in Deauville for Arqana's headline event of the year. As it is taking place three weeks later than usual, it is no longer the August Sale but the Select Sale, though there is a more than familiar feel to the catalogue, which features plenty of France's leading equine families.

Two consignors have taken advantage of the sale's later date to try their hand with a debut Arqana draft. Though new to this particular sale, both are familiar names on the wider circuit: Italy's Allevamento Le Gi and Baroda Stud of Ireland. They also each have a Dubawi filly to sell from just six yearlings in total in the catalogue by the revered Darley stallion.

From Tuscany to Normandy
Giovanni Parri is representing Le Gi in France while his father Massimo has remained at the family's beautiful farm in the shadow of the Tuscan Hills to oversee a draft of 15 going to their home country's SGA Sale on Sept. 19.

As the head of Italy's Thoroughbred breeders' association (ANAC), Massimo Parri is understandably keen to support the sale in Milan but the family has also succeeded in recent years when selling abroad. Notably, they topped Tattersalls October Book 2 in 2017 when selling a Sea The Stars (Ire) colt out of Biz Bar (GB) (Tobougg {Ire}) for 850,000gns to Shadwell, and it is the Dubawi (Ire) half-sister of this colt who makes up half of Le Gi's select Arqana draft. Selling within the first two hours of the opening day of the sale on Wednesday, lot 34 is also a half-sister to the G1 Gran Premio do Milano winner Biz The Nurse (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}) and fellow stakes winners Mysterious Boy (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}), Bullish Glory (Ire) (Roderic O'Connor {Ire}) and Biz Power (Ire) (Power {Ire}). Furthermore, the progeny of Biz Bar have delivered three updates since the catalogue went to press, with the mare's Golden Horn (GB) 3-year-old Presidential Sweet (ITY), having won her maiden in Italy by seven lengths, and the 99-rated aforementioned Book 2 topper Alfaatik (GB) having returned to winning ways at York's Ebor meeting.

“The Dubawi filly has a really nice temperament and she's been doing everything very well since she arrived here,” said Giovanni Parri at Arqana on Sunday. “We took her to be lunged this morning and she behaved just as if she was still at our farm.”

He continued, “We have sold at Tattersalls for the last three years and we decided to come here when Arqana announced that the sale would be moved to September. When we made that decision, Great Britain was in a worse condition than France with Covid and so we through that probably it would be easier for us to come here to Arqana from Italy.

“Also, last year there were a lot of Dubawi yearlings in Tattersalls, so it might have been too much competition. She was born in February so it's a good time now for her to come to a sale. The family is going well. Alfaatik won again for John Gosden, and the 3-year-old won her maiden well and was then second yesterday [Saturday] in a good conditions race.”

It's not just this family that has been going well for Le Gi, which has celebrated two Classic winners in Italy this year. Cima Emergency (Ire) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) won the G3 Premio Parioli (Italian 2000 Guineas) and Auyantepui (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) landed the G2 Oaks d'Italia. Formerly trained in Italy by Nicolo Simondi, the latter is co-owned by the Parri family with OTI Racing and is now with Chantilly-based young Italian trainer Mario Baratti. She is entered in Thursday's Listed Prix Joubert at ParisLongchamp.

Parri said, “It has been an exciting year as we won the Oaks as breeder and owner, and also the Guineas, both with the offspring of our young mares, so we are very happy. We are going to sell a Kodiac (GB) half-brother to the Guineas winner in Milan and we are very excited about him.”

The SGA draft also includes yearlings by Pride Of Dubai (Aus), Churchill (Ire) and Mehmas (Ire), while at Arqana, the pair of offerings is completed by a colt by Camelot (GB) (lot 76) out of the four-time winner Dweezil (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), a half-sister to Derby Italiano victor De Sica (Ire) (Sri Pekan).

“The Camelot is a horse for someone who likes to dream: he's not a 2-year-old type but more a Classic type,” noted Parri. “He's a first foal but he doesn't look like a first foal because he is a good size and strong.”

Baroda Branches Out
The second Dubawi filly to take to the ring on Arqana's opening day, lot 61 is the only one in the sale to have arrived from Ireland, though she started her life in Germany. Bred by Janet Leve-Ostermann's Gestut Haus Itlingen, the daughter of the G3 Hamburger Stutenpreis winner Daytona Bay (GB) (Motivator {GB}) was a 300,000gns pinhook from the Tattersalls December Sale and she will be the first Baroda-consigned yearling to be offered in Deauville.

“We've been coming here for years and we usually sell through Monceaux, but it's great to have our first draft here,” said stud owner David Cox. 

“The timing of the sales all being on top of each other now, especially with the American sales as well, is difficult, but Arqana has done a very good job of helping to get as many people over here as can come. The statistics for the online facilities so far this year have been very interesting as well.”

He added of the Dubawi yearling, “She's a lovely filly with scope and she's a great mover. She's an exciting one to be selling. Dubawi has enjoyed enormous success with mares by Sadler's Wells-line stallions: Ghaiyyath (Ire) is out of a Galileo (Ire) mare as is Dubawi's young stallion son Night Of Thunder (Ire). European champion 2-year-old Too Darn Hot (GB) is out of a daughter of Singspiel (Ire), likewise Group 1 winners Wuheida (GB) and Old Persian (GB), while Barathea (Ire) is the broodmare sire of Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso (GB), Juddmonte International heroine Arabian Queen (GB) and Hunter's Light (GB).”

Just six lots later, Baroda will be back in action with lot 67, a daughter of another popular British-based stallion, Showcasing (GB). The March-born filly is out of the dual winner Deux Saisons (GB) (Chineur {Fr}), who is herself a half-sister to G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Tin Horse (Ire) (Sakhee), while the family also includes last year's Horse of the Year in Germany, Rubaiyat (Fr) (Areion {Ger}).

“She is a fast-looking filly and hopefully she'll be popular,” said Cox. “It's a case of finding the right sale for the right horse and we've a few Showcasing yearlings so we thought she would suit this market with some good French winners in her pedigree. With the prize-money being so strong in France it's a great place to be selling horses and it was a natural progression for us as a consignment to come here. It was a last-minute move to come to Arqana but everyone has had to be flexible this year. The breeze-up boys started it and had to move horses around but they showed that it can be done, and we all have to adapt in a difficult year.”

Following the French sale, Baroda turns its attentions to shipping its drafts for the relocated Goffs Orby Sale to the UK, swiftly followed by those for the Tattersalls October Sale.

Cox added, “We will also be welcoming clients to the farm in a socially-distanced manner if they would like to see the Goffs Orby yearlings and Tattersalls yearlings ahead of the sale, especially if they can't travel to the UK.”