A Group 3 winner and Group 2-placed, 3-year-old filly Penja (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) (lot 11) brought star quality to Saturday night's Arqana Arc Sale at Saint-Cloud Racecourse, and she duly topped proceedings at €1.2 million when Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock prevailed over a remote bidder on Arqana's online platform. Boman noted Penja had been bought for German owner Jurgen Satori.
“We're very happy with the purchase,” Boman said. “She's an exceptional filly with a fantastic acceleration. We had to fight to get her but she's worth it. We're delighted.”
Penja remains engaged in Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Opera at ParisLongchamp.
Purchased by trainer Jean-Claude Rouget for €90,000 at Arqana October in 2019, Penja carried the colours of Daniel Yves-Treves to a victory at Marseille Borely last October. She won conditions races over a mile and two and a mile and one this season before stepping up to take the G3 Prix de Psyche at Deauville in August. She was a nose second in the G2 Prix de la Nonette back at that course on Aug. 21. She is a half-sister to the Listed Derby du Midi victor Taos (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}), while her dam, the unraced Just With You (Ire) (Sunday Break {Jpn}) is a full-sister to Dubai Group 2 winner Frankyfourfingers (Ire).
Arqana annually engages a select offering of horses in training with good current form for its boutique Arc sale on the eve of ParisLongchamp's flagship event. This time around, 34 horses offered. Nineteen sold for €4,975,000. The average was €261,842, and the median €160,000. Last year, 11 were sold from 19 offered for €3,050,000. The average was €277,273, and the median €260,000.
It was another 3-year-old from the Rouget yard, this time a colt, that generated the sale's second top price: Aga Khan Studs homebred Saiydabad (Blame) (lot 32) was knocked down to Emmanuel de Seroux's Narvick International for €575,000 and is bound for Saudi Arabia. The fourth foal out of the G3 Prix de Lieurey victress Sarkiyla (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Saiyabad won his first three starts this year before finishing fourth behind St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and ninth in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris. Returning from a summer break on Sept. 5 and back down to 2000 metres, Saiydabad won the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange, and the horse that has displayed an affinity for good going was sold off a seventh-place finish in Saturday's G2 Prix Dollar over the very soft ground.
As can generally be the case at a sale of this kind, there were a handful of high-profile buybacks, headed by progressive 3-year-old Partenit (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who was unsold at €775,000. Bellharbour Music (Mshawish), who had headed Partentit in the G3 Prix Daphnis on Aug. 21, similarly failed to find a new home at €550,000, while the Daphnis fifth Colosseo (Street Boss) was unsold at €575,000. Wildcard entry Lady Day (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), a listed winner this summer, was a €500,000 buyback.
Featuring among the 2-year-old offerings was Scherzo (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) (lot 24). The half-brother to group winners Calvados Blues (Fr) (Lando {Ger}) and Volta (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) won his first two races this summer for Yann Barberot and owner Malcolm Parrish, and was offered by Barberot off a recent second in the G3 Prix des Chenes. The €70,000 yearling was picked up by Charlie Gordon-Watson for €420,000.
German-based filly Tabera (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) (lot 33) built on a pair of stakes victories last year at three when taking Baden-Baden's G3 Preis der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe by 3 3/4 lengths in August, and the 100,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling was picked up by Oceanic Bloodstock–on behalf of a syndicate of breeders managed by Haras des Capucines–on Saturday for €400,000.
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