Arqana August Sale

DEAUVILLE, France--Over the next three evenings, around 280 youngsters considered to be the cream of the French yearling crop will pass through the sale ring in Deauville, where this time last year the collective bidding stopped just north of €50 million to bring record returns at Arqana. The term 'record-breaking trade' has appeared countless times in this and other publications, and frequent rejigging of sales formats allows that to be claimed perhaps more often than it genuinely should be, but the 2022 August Sale really was quite the blockbuster by...

DEAUVILLE, France--In a departure from the normal schedule, Arqana's August extravaganza kicks off a day early this year, on Friday. With a handful of shows having taken place on Tuesday, viewing began in earnest on Wednesday morning, with Joseph O'Brien first out of the blocks and on parade at the Haras des Capucines draft while most people were still having breakfast. While many of the families of the horses catalogued will be familiar to potential purchasers, each new season brings with it a wave of new stallion names to grapple...

Luxury aviation company Flexjet will continue as Arqana's official partner during the August Yearling Sale, which begins on Friday, Aug. 18. Buyers will be offered a magnum of champagne with their first purchase of €500,000 or more at the Deauville venue. The top vendor at the end of each day of the sale will also receive a magnum of champagne. The Flexjet team will be present at the 360° Bar, as well as the Cocktail Bar in Courtyard A throughout the three-day sale. "We are delighted to be involved in...

The one thing guaranteed to get you through a hard day on the sales grind is the promise of a decent meal at the end of it, and in Deauville you will not be short of options. There have been a lot of changes on the gastronomic scene of late, and if you haven't visited the seaside resort for a couple of years, you are likely to find it hard to choose from the large array of enticing new venues. The Covid pandemic may have played its part, but not...

By Emma Berry, Brian Sheerin and Sue Finley DEAUVILLE, France--Monday may have felt like Sunday in Deauville as the French observed the holy day of the Assumption of St Mary, but business continued apace at Arqana, with strength in depth to the final session hitherto unseen at the August Sale and new record figures set in all sectors. Reworked this year so that the former select evening sessions held over the weekend with a supplementary session on Monday were all rolled into an alphabetical singular sale, the new format may...

A grey filly by Siyouni (Fr) made €1.4 million from Alex Solis and Jason Litt to become the second seven-figure lot at Arqana on Sunday and third overall. Lot 216, out of the Listed Prix de Saint-Cyr heroine Aviatress (Ire) (Shamardal), was consigned by Ecurie des Monceaux. The dam is a half-sister to GIII Seaway S. heroine Marbre Rose (Ire) (Smart Strike), as well as the stakes winner and dual graded-placed Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). Under the third dam are the top-level winners Zoftig (Cozzene), Zo Impressive (Hard Spun) and...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin DEAUVILLE, France--If two of the certainties in life are death and taxes, the third, in the world of bloodstock at least, is that if a yearling out of Starlet's Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) turns up at the Arqana August Sale then he or she will steal the limelight. This time it was a colt (lot 154), a full-brother to the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) no less, whose arrival in the ring...

by Emma Berry, Brian Sheerin & Sue Finley DEAUVILLE, France--A Shamardal colt with rarity value to add to his illustrious family ties was the sole millionaire yearling during the opening session of the Arqana August Sale when selling for €1.6 million from Gestut Ammerland to Godolphin. Bred by one of the most respected studs in Europe, the close relation to dual Classic winner and leading sire Lope De Vega (Ire) was the stand-out on a day which had a strong clearance rate for an elite sale of 84%, with the...

Flexjet, a private jet company, is the official partner of the Arqana August Sale which begins its three-day run in Deauville on Saturday. The private jet provider will offer a magnum of champagne to the buyers of every yearlings sold for €500,000 or more and to the top vendor of each day. In addition, the Flexjet team will be on hand throughout the sale to share a drink in Yard A or at the bar, Le 360.

  DEAUVILLE, France-There were times at Arqana on Friday when it felt as though navigating your way through the Champs-Elysees roundabout during rush hour would present a far more straightforward task than slaloming between the scores of yearlings around the sales complex on the eve of the August Sale. It was predictably busy at Barn B, where Felix Lepeudry of Elevage de Tourgeville, readied a six-strong draft to be inspected by two heavyweights from either corner of the globe underneath a clear blue sky and a welcome breeze. Getting their...

DEAUVILLE, France -- Haras de Beaufay is one of the new names on the list of consignors this August at Arqana and its debut draft of two yearlings is in line with the farm manager's ambition to take things "step by step" as the new team carves out a reputation in a competitive field. The stud, based near Gace in Normandy, was bought in 2016 by Czech breeder Jiri Travinicek, who set about turning it into a semi-commercial broodmare farm for his own mares and those owned by clients. Three...

Gwen Monneraye and Lucie Lamotte, collectively known as La Motteraye Consignment, have come a long way since setting up their business in December 2009 with €92 in their pocket. Less than a decade later they topped France's premier yearling sale in 2018 when selling a Dubawi (Ire) colt out of Just The Judge (Ire) for €1.4 million, and at this year's Arqana August Sale their draft is headed by another yearling with two Classic-winning parents. The Sea The Stars (Ire) filly, who will have the lot number 234 attached to...