Arqana December

The American bloodstock agent and racehorse owner Peter Bradley is a prominent figure at American sales, but makes his debut as a seller at Arqana December with a trio of group quality fillies, including the Group 1-placed La Parisienne (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) at this year's sale. Bradley purchased 70% percent of La Parisienne after her December 10, 2021 debut at Deauville racecourse when she won by five lengths on the Polytrack. Almost two years later to the date, she sells across the road with Haras du Cadran as lot number...

Sales of breeding stock are just as much a feature of the final couple of months of the year in Europe as they are in North America. In fact, the European sales have been an important fact of American bloodstock life since the early days of the sport, with many breed-shapers having been recruited in Europe before heading west to make history. Perhaps the most famous graduate of Tattersalls's December Sale remains La Troienne (Fr) (Teddy {Fr}). After a racing career in which, without winning, she notched up some minor...

G2 Prix du Muguet winner Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}-L'Ancresse {Ire}), by Darshaan {GB}) has been added to the Arqana December Vente d'Elevage and is set to go under the hammer during the first evening of the sale Saturday, Dec. 9 when consigned by Haras de l'Hôtellerie. A winner of the Listed Prix de Liancourt at three, the Christopher Head-trained mare finished fourth in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary and G1 Prix de Diane. In the spring of her 4-year-old campaign, she went on to take her first group win in...

by Sue Finley & Katie Petrunyak Since 1958, the Head family has been raising champion Thoroughbreds at Haras du Quesnay, just a few kilometers from the Arqana sales ring. But now, with the passing of the family patriarch, Alec Head, and the sale of the historic nursery, the family's colors will fly for the last time at the December Breeding Stock sale, with the complete dispersal of the Heads' bloodstock interests. Le Quesnay will offer 48 broodmares, fillies and foals during the sale. "It's a big bunch of horses, and...

Peter Brant's €$1.95-million investment at last year's Arqana December sale to acquire Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) looks like it might be paying off as the even-money favorite in Saturday's GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. showed off an uncommon turn-of-foot to blow away fellow Brant/Chad Brown representative and 'TDN Rising Star' In Italian. The victory came almost exactly 24 hours after Brant and Brown celebrated another victory with a fast-finishing female in still-unbeaten GIII Modesty S. heroine Bleecker Street (Quality Road). Brown saddled the exacta in...

DEAUVILLE, France--Culls from some of Europe's-and indeed, the world's-greatest breeders have played a sizable role in driving the market at this year's breeding stock sales. Over the past few weeks buyers have come out in force for the stock deemed excess to Juddmonte, Godolphin and Shadwell, but they had to wait until Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale for the offerings from Wertheimer et Frere, with that nursery selling exclusively in Deauville each December. It was a mare from that consignment that supplied the joint-highest price during Monday's second session of...

DEAUVILLE, France--When Arqana issued the news, on Oct. 11, that Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire})—the Group 1 winner raced by a partnership of Albert Frassetto, John d'Amato, and Mike Pietrangelo—would be offered at their upcoming December Breeding Stock sale, there was something curious about the story. Reading the alert from the TDN, Benoit Jeffroy and the team at Haras de Castillon immediately picked up on it: the story did not list a consignor. "Amelie [Lemercier] sent me a text, and she said, 'Did you see? She's going to Arqana,'"...

DEAUVILLE, France-the sales caravan has rolled into its final stop of the season, the European bloodstock community having made its annual descent upon Deauville, France over the past two days for the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale. With an expected deluge of rain remaining at bay through the first part of Friday, the usual suspects from across Europe and further afield were out of full force inspecting the cross section of fillies, broodmares and foals that will take their turns in the ring beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday. "People...

Purplepay (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), the four-length winner of the Criterium Arqana and third in the G1 Criterium International, has been added as a wildcard to the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale and will sell on Dec. 4 as lot 150. The 108-rated filly is from the productive family of Group 1 winners Ectot (GB) and Most Improved (Ire) and Group 3 winner and G1 1000 Guineas third Daban (Ire). Purplepay was offered through an Auctav online sale earlier this month and was bought back at €1.35-million. Joining Purplepay on the...

Speak Of The Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}-Moranda {Fr}, by Indian Rocket {GB}) will be offered at Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale on Dec. 4. The winner of her lone 2-year-old start in 2019 for owner Rashit Shaykhutdinov and trainer Fabrice Chappet, Speak Of The Devil was second, beaten a nose by Dream And Do (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches of 2020. Fourth in the G1 Prix Rothschild two months later, Speak Of The Devil earned a first black-type win in ParisLongchamp's Listed Prix de...

Under tight restrictions similar to those experienced in Newmarket over the previous fortnight, Arqana's Breeding Stock Sale began its four-day run in Deauville on Saturday with a strong international feel to proceedings. Participation at this select session from owners and breeders in America and Japan in particular ensured that trade held up pretty well in extraordinary circumstances as the French lockdown continued. The clearance rate was down slightly, but was a healthy 79%, and the turnover of €18,716,000 dipped 18% on last year, when ten more horses were sold. This...

It hasn't been a bad year for Holger Faust's HFTB Agency, all things considered. They have been involved in the sale or purchase of three Group 1-winning fillies in 2020, namely Princess Zoe (Ger), Sunny Queen (Ger) and finally, Donjah (Ger), who will be the only Group 1-winning filly in training to be offered at public auction in Europe this year when she goes through the Arqana sales ring on Saturday afternoon. Faust's involvement with the G1 Preis von Europa winner, who is catalogued as lot 182, is certainly not...