Arqana October Yearling Sale

DEAUVILLE, France--A strong opening day of the Arqana October Sale saw a colt by Camelot (GB) top proceedings at €440,000, bought late in the session by Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International Agency on behalf of MV Magnier. Consigned by the leading vendor Ecurie des Monceaux, lot 209 is a half-brother to the listed Prix Michel Houyvet winner Big Blue (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). As has been seen throughout the European yearling season so far, there was a buoyant level of trade in Deauville on Monday, with figures exceeding the pre-pandemic...

DEAUVILLE, France—A numerically enhanced Arqana October Sale drew to a close in Deauville on Friday with encouraging figures in a year which cannot shake off the spectre of Covid-19. As 9pm curfews are about to be reinstated across the regions of France where the virus is spreading most quickly, the curtain has come down just in time on the major yearling sales of the season. What the situation will be come the breeding stock sales is anyone's guess but, for now, Arqana has managed to stage its October Sale in...

DEAUVILLE, France—The prices may have dipped significantly at Arqana on the Thursday but the activity at the sales grounds did not. If anything there were more people in attendance than on previous days, with the boost in French 2-year-old premiums to 70% perhaps acting as an incentive for owners to take a chance on a prospect for next season. Certainly buyers were out in force and the clearance rate climbed again for this third tier of the sale, though it has to be said that not many below the top...

DEAUVILLE, France—The second part of the Arqana October Yearling Sale concluded on Wednesday with consistent results across the two-day section. Again, the clearance rate was encouragingly high at 82%, with 131 horses sold for €3,179,000 at an average of €24,269 and median of €20,000. Lope De Vega (Ire) had been represented by his fifth juvenile stakes winner of the season when Godolphin's unbeaten Parchemin (Ire) landed the listed Prix Isonomy at Deauville and several hours later across the road at Arqana, another of the stallion's young chestnut sons led the...

DEAUVILLE, France—France is one of the few countries in Europe where it is still relatively easy for people to go racing, so a short stroll down the road to Hippodrome La Touques from the Arqana sales complex was a perfect pre-sales outing, with the day's two black-type races well timed to be observed before action got underway in the ring. The winner of the G3 Prix des Reservoirs, Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}), not only provided her first-season sire Territories (Ire) with his first group winner but also gave a boost...

DEAUVILLE, France—With a pedigree that certainly would not look out of place at Arqana's August Sale, Ecurie des Monceaux's Siyouni (Fr) colt out of Prudente (Fr) (Dansili {GB}) set a new October Sale record in Deauville when selling to Al Shaqab for €525,000. Hailing from the farm which supplied this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) by the same stallion, the April-foaled sale-topper (lot 157) became the subject of a bidding duel between Al Shaqab and Godolphin, with the Qatari operation placing a late final offer of...

DEAUVILLE, France—Following on from an extraordinarily robust fortnight of trade at Tattersalls, the yearling sales action has switched back to Deauville, with a higher number of visitors than expected, especially breeze-up pinhookers unable to fill their quotas in the face of strong opposition in Newmarket. Though held in its traditional slot, the Arqana October Sale has a slightly different feel this year as it incorporates a number of yearlings which would otherwise have been in the V2 Sale in August, as well as those originally destined for Osarus in September....

A yearling filly by Sea The Stars (Ire) is a late addition to the Arqana October Yearling Sale Part I on Oct. 19-23. Offered by Haras d'Etreham as lot 110bis, she is out of Scandinavian champion Matauri Pearl (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), herself a full-sister to MGSW & MG1SP Wekeela (Fr) (Hurricane Run {Ire}). In the extended family is MG1SW and star sire Monsun (Ger) (Konigsstuhl {Ger}), as well as dual Classic hero Brametot (Ire) (Rajsaman {Fr}). The five-day sale will see 785 yearlings go under the hammer at Deauville.