Arqana Breeze-up Sale

The catalogue for Arqana's annual Breeze Up Sale, set to be held May 11-13 at Deauville, will be available online starting on Tuesday, Mar. 14. This year 185 2-year-olds are on offer, including 38 out of Group winning/producing mares, plus a number of full or half-siblings to Group 1 winners. Additionally, more than 80 stallions are represented. The breezes will take place on the grass at Deauville-La Touques Racecourse on Thursday, May 11, followed by a day of inspections on Friday, May 12, with the sale taking place on Saturday...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Tuesday's Insights features debuting Tabarin (Ire) (Frankel ({GB}) and 'Rising Star' Eldar Eldarov (Dubawi {Ire}). 2.25 Saint-Cloud, Debuntates, €27,000, 3yo, c/g, 12fT TABARIN (IRE) (Frankel {GB}) debuts for the Niarchos Family and Francis-Henri Graffard and is a son of the G3 Prix Vanteaux winner and G1 Prix Saint-Alary runner-up...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin DEAUVILLE, France--It wasn't until the wild-card selection after the end of the main catalogue that the day's top lot walked the ring at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale, and that honour went to Willie Browne's Mocklershill team and their colt by the late Zoffany (Ire), who sold for €550,000. Oliver St Lawrence had kept his powder dry for much of the day, but having warmed up with a €520,000 bid for a Siyouni (Fr) colt from Longways Stables, he went strong again for the session...

Lot 124, a son of French Champion Sire Siyouni (Fr) made €520,000 on the bid of Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock to take the lead at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale. He was the first lot to breach the €500,000 barrier on Friday. Consigned by Longways Stables, the bay is out of a full-sister to G1 Nunthorpe S. heroine Mecca's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and dual group winner Markaz (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

DEAUVILLE, France--With a glinting sun, seagulls on the wing, and the occasional hint of a sea breeze, it is hard to imagine on this perfect spring day that there was ever anything wrong in the world. But it was three years ago that Arqana last held its Breeze-Up Sale at its rightful home in Normandy, with a prolonged pandemic twice forcing the uprooting of one of the most popular auctions of the year to Yorkshire. "It is good to be back here," says Freddy Powell, Arqana's executive director. "But we...

Leading breeze-up consignor Johnny Hassett has labelled the collection of horses on offer at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale as the best bunch he has ever seen in one place at a given time and put forward colts by Siyouni (Fr) (lot 149) and Expert Eye (GB) (lot 43) from his eight-strong Bloodstock Connection draft as the most likely to make the biggest impression on buyers. Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), runner-up to Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor...

DONCASTER, UK--It takes more than mere pandemic-induced travel restrictions to blunt the ardour of the bloodstock industry. A new record for turnover and median set the tone for a robust day of trade in Doncaster and, just as would be expected in normal times, the buyers' list at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale represented many nations, with plenty of help from the Middle East. The familiar duo of Anthony Stroud and David Loder leaned nonchalantly on the parade ring rail to make their play for the Medaglia d'Oro colt who would...

DONCASTER, UK--On paper, there has been clear evidence over a number of years that the breeze-up sector has collectively raised its game when it comes to the quality of product on offer. Many of the 2-year-olds who will pass through the ring in Doncaster on Friday for the relocated and slightly delayed Arqana Breeze-Up Sale would not have looked out of place in an elite yearling sale. The advantage for potential buyers now is that they don't just have the chance to watch the horses walk up and down, but...

It is unlikely that Arqana will want to make South Yorkshire the permanent home for its breeze-up sale, but swapping Deauville for Doncaster worked perfectly well last year and, with ongoing tricky travel conditions, the return to the Goffs UK complex in 2021 was perhaps inevitable. Owing to the relative lateness of last year's sale--which was held several weeks  after Royal Ascot on July 1--and the change of location, only 77 juveniles stood their ground, but the returns were good for those vendors who held their nerve. Having been staged...

Buyers are required to register at Goffs Online to bid online at the 2021 Arqana Breeze-Up Sale, Arqana announced on Saturday. Registrations for bidding online are now open. Online bidding on the sale will only be available at Goffs Online, not Arqana Online, the French sales company stressed. For the second year in a row, the 2-year-old sale, which features 158 juveniles, will be held at Goffs UK's Doncaster sales complex due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The breezes, which will start at noon, will be conducted at Doncaster Racecourse on...

For a second consecutive year, Arqana will sponsor the Listed Irish EBF Marwell S. at Ireland's Naas Racecourse July 21. The inaugural Marwell S., contested in early August 2020, was won by the Ken Condon-trained Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who won the G2 Lowther S. in her next appearance before placing in the G1 Cheveley Park Stud S. and in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf. The announcement comes ahead of next week's Arqana Breeze-Up Sale, which has been relocated from Deauville to Doncaster due to COVID-19...

Over 500 horses are eligible for the 10-race 2022 Swedish Derby & Oaks Series which closed on Mar. 22, Svensk Galopp announced on Tuesday. All the races are for 3-year-olds and run over three meetings on the Jagersro Racecourse dirt track with the exception of the Bro Park Sprint for Scandinavian-bred horses. Total prize money is almost €7.7 million and the races will be run between June and August. The Swedish Derby is worth in excess of €249,000, while the Swedish Oaks is worth almost €115,000 and the Altamira worth...