By Brian Sheerin and Katie Petrunyak
Danish buyer Morten Buskop was left thanking his lucky stars on Sunday that his unnamed but long-standing client was more stubborn than him as he came out on top for the €190,000 Zarak (Fr) foal who led the way at the second session of the Arqana breeding stock sale.
There's nothing quite like seeing the sales house back up when a highly regarded horse walks into the ring and it became evident pretty quickly that the Haras de Montaigu-drafted colt had plenty of suitors with many of the top judges playing on lot 400.
A daughter of one of the best stallions in France and out of the well-bred Sea The Stars (Ire) mare Brodie (GB), the Sunday sale-topper could be offered for resale or put into training by Buskop's client, with the agent keen not to tie up plans at this early stage.
He said, “My client is a very stubborn man when he decides he likes the horse or the foal. He likes the Zaraks, of course, and we thought there is a lot of Dubawi (Ire) in this horse.”
Buskop added, “The page is nice. He's out of a Sea The Stars mare so that should do the job. We also like the fact that the granddam is by Linamix (Fr). Very happy with the purchase.”
The main takeaway from Sunday's action was the clearance rate climbing 4% to 83% compared to last year's figures. The average was virtually the same at €36,592 while the median climbed €2,500 to €30,000. The aggregate was also up by almost 2% to €7,757,500.
Howdy Partner – Ballylinch Form Strong Partnerships
Two years ago, Meridian International and Ballylinch Stud teamed up at Arqana to bid on a colt by New Bay (GB), however, they came in as underbidder when the youngster sold for €180,000. Flash forward to this September and the juvenile named Alcantor (Fr), who was a TDN Rising Star on debut, claimed the G3 Prix Thomas Bryon Jockey Club de Turquie for Baron Edouard De Rothschild.
Meridian International's Ghislain Bozo and John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud were keen to try for the same family again as Alcantor's half-sister by another Ballylinch sire took to the ring at Arqana. After a lively round of bidding, the partners came out on top with a winning €115,000 bid for the daughter of first-crop sire Waldgeist (GB).
“We think we're going to either pinhook her or race her,” said Bozo of lot 396. “She's a very good mover and Alcantor is obviously a very good horse. We're going to try to get the best out of her.”
“We like doing partnerships,” O'Connor added. “We think we are good partners for people and it's been very successful for us. It allows us to spread the risk over a larger number of horses and we're always happy to do it mostly on our own stallions. We like that best. She's by Waldgeist and the trainers have been very positive about him, so he has to get some more winners next year but the trainers tell me that they're very nice horses.”
Consigned by Haras du Hoguenet, the April-foaled weanling is out of Bianca de Medici (GB) (Medicean {GB}), who hails from the family of dual Arc heroine Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) and whose six foals from six to race also include Group 2 winner Boscaccio (Ger) (Mount Nelson {GB}).
“We know that the mare is a proven mare so she's bred some good ones,” O'Connor said. “She's a very nice filly. We might end up racing her. If we do, at least we have one that looks like a racehorse.”
Ballylinch Stud went on to team up with an unnamed partner to secure Royal Grey (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) (lot 477), a listed winner in Italy, for €135,000. She was purchased once again by Bozo of Meridian International and will join trainer Nicolas Clement after a short break.
Bozo explained, “She is going to be trained by Nicolas Clement and is a very nice filly with good form. The stallion needs no introduction and she is just a lovely filly with a very good page. We will give her a break for a month and then she will go back into training where she can hopefully take in a listed win in France.”
Royal Grey, a daughter of G2 Lowther S. runner-up Infamous Angel (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), was sold for £45,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale last year. She has amassed three wins in Italy for Endo Botti.
Bozo continued, “It's a partnership between a client of Nicolas Clement's and also Ballylinch Stud. Havana Grey is a lovely stallion and he could be the next Wootton Bassett (GB) maybe. He stands out so much and his stock have a good temperament and are very keen to go. I'm very impressed by them.”
Offered by Endo Botti Galopp, Listed winner ROYAL GREY (lot 4️⃣7️⃣7️⃣) by #HavanaGrey @WhitsburyManor is secured by @MERIDIAN7 & @ClementNicolas1 for €135,000 at the ❄️#VentedElevage. pic.twitter.com/SgHwhn8suM
— ARQANA (@InfoArqana) December 10, 2023
Top Jockey Ronan Whelan Gets In On The Arqana Action
Some jockeys jet off to exotic places on their holidays over the winter but top Irish rider Ronan Whelan swapped topping up his tan for adding to his bloodstock portfolio alongside his father Tom, a renowned breeder in his own right.
This year marks Whelan's best, with 46 winners ridden domestically in Ireland, while Tom, who operates under Church View Stables, has enjoyed a good time in the ring.
The father-and-son team were involved in the purchasing of lot 315, a St Mark's Basilica (Fr) colt out of a half-sister to Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), for €110,000 to MAB Agency.
The sale comes just a week after a filly by the Coolmore-based stallion and out of the Oaks winner Talent (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) topped the foal sale at Tattersalls at 575,000gns to Jill Lamb on behalf of Newsells Park Stud.
“We fell in love with the colt,” Ronan Whelan said. “We can't wait to bring him back to Ireland. St Mark's Basilica is a promising stallion and he's from a great family.”
Marc Antoine Berghgracht's MAB Agency went on to sign for Tevara (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) (lot 331), offered in foal to Victor Ludorum (GB), from Haras du Logis at €100,000. MAB Agency spent almost €400,000 on six lots on Sunday alone.
Irish Buyers Going Ga-Ga For Galiway
Irish buyers have been going ga-ga crazy for the progeny of Galiway (GB) in recent times, largely down to the success Willie Mullins has enjoyed with the Haras de Colleville-based stallion.
Ireland's dominant National Hunt handler has done his bit to spread the good Galiway word through hurdlers Vauban (Fr) and Gala Marceau (Fr) and Mullins's fingerprints were all over one of the more expensive lots sold on Sunday.
Less than a month after Paul Byrne, Harold Kirk and Mullins snapped up Zillow (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}) for €300,000 at the Autumn Sale here at Arqana, the three-year-old's dam Petunia (Ire) was sold in foal to Galiway to Irish buyers Seamus Murphy and Mark McStay standing alongside Timmy Hyde jnr.
By Pivotal (GB) herself, Petunia hails from a good Wertheimer family and there was clearly no shortage of people willing to take the chance on Zillow turning out to be a fine dual-purpose type for Mullins with the hammer falling at €93,000.
To be fair to Murphy and McStay, there are worse people to be placing your faith in than messrs Byrne, Kirk and Mullins. Lot 438 could turn out to be a good buy.
Buy of the Day
Mags O'Toole has a habit of turning water into the wine and nobody would be surprised if lot 303, a Sioux Nation colt out of winning Camelot (GB) mare Shalya (Fr), could double or even treble the €55,000 outlay if he rocks up to any of the major yearling sales next year.
Shalya, herself a winner at four, hails from the family of G1 Yorkshire Oaks and G1 Prix Vermeille victress Shareta (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), plus a second Prix Vermeille winner in Shawanda (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), who also claimed the G1 Irish Oaks.
Sioux Nation, one of the top second-crop sires this year, celebrated a bumper sale at Tattersalls last week, with foals selling for 210,000gns, 155,000gns and 135,000gns.
All told, 10 foals by Sioux Nation sold for an average of 71,200gns. Given O'Toole's purchase came significantly under that average price from Tattersalls, one can assume that she is in a good position to turn a profit next year.
Thought for the Day
The French way of auctioneering seems to be about building suspense and leaving no stone unturned to secure the best possible price for the vendors. Put it this way, there's nobody nipping off to the car parks early at Arqana.
However, surely an argument can be made for the long, drawn out approach to auctioneering, where horses in the millions are climbing up in a series of €25,000 bids, is counterproductive. Surely a more lively approach to auctioneering, in America for example, is best served for getting people's blood up and ultimately driving the highest price in the ring.
Whether such a practice would ever catch on in France remains to be seen but there was no escaping that the ring felt flat for long periods of time on Saturday and Sunday at Arqana.
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