Monceaux

By Brian Sheerin and Adam Houghton DEAUVILLE, France - Talk about a fitting finale. After what could only be described as a patchy opening two days to the August Yearling Sale, a St Mark's Basilica (Fr) filly (lot 270) out of Ecurie des Monceaux's blue hen Prudenzia (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) topped Sunday's concluding session at €1.7 million when sold to Coolmore's MV Magnier. Prudenzia is the gift that keeps giving for Henri Bozo's powerful breeding operation in France. Who could forget her daughter Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who became...

It has become a familiar occasion to open the Arqana August catalogue and find an offering from the remarkably consistent broodmare Starlet's Sister (Ire), whose progeny have shone for years here for the perennial leading consignor, Ecurie des Monceaux. Most recently, the Dubawi (Ire) filly Pure Dignity (GB) brought €2,500,000 from Oliver St. Lawrence in 2020, and Parliament (GB), a colt by Fastnet Rock (Aus), sold for €700,000 in 2019. Pure Dignity just won her first start for Roger Varian. But the 2022 offering might be the most exciting yet:...

The curtain came down on the five-day Arqana October Yearling Sale on Friday with a low-key session of 99 yearlings that was headed by J.K. Thoroughbreds's filly by Zelzal (Ire) (lot 705), who was bought by Mandore Agency and John Hammond for €41,000. The top-priced colt of the day was a first-crop son of Cloth Of Stars (Ire) (lot 723), and the name on the ticket was once again John Hammond at €30,000. Friday's trade saw 84.9% of the yearlings offered change hands to add €940,500 to the sale's aggregate....

French champion sire Siyouni (Fr) provided the second millionaire of the Arqana August Yearling Sale when Ecurie des Monceaux's colt out of Cercle de la Vie (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 152) fetched €1.5-million to the bid of Oliver St Lawrence on behalf of Fawzi Nass. Cercle de la Vie is a full-sister to Group 1 winners Highland Reel (Ire) and Cape Of Good Hope (Ire), and her current 2-year-old, who was a private purchase at €120,000 by Jamie McCalmont in Deauville last summer, is Angel Bleu (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}),...

DEAUVILLE, France--There were tears of delight from breeder Jose Delmotte and his friend and agent Marc-Antoine Berghgracht following the sale of Delmotte's Kingman (GB) filly (lot 62) for a session-leading €950,000 on Saturday evening at Arqana. From the Juddmonte family of young sire Calyx (GB), the filly's dam Needleleaf (GB) (Observatory {GB}) was bought as an unraced 2-year-old from the Juddmonte draft at Tattersalls December Sale by Berghgracht six years ago for 60,000gns. The sister to Group 1-winning sprinter African Rose (GB) has already hit the big time with her...

Updates on the Arqana August Yearling Sale as it happens in Deauville. Classy Signings For Coolmore Siyouni was also on the shopping list of the Coolmore team, which stands his Arc-winning son Sottsass (Fr) and went to €650,000 for another colt by the sire for the Ecurie Des Monceaux draft. Lot 160 is the first foal of Correze (GB) (Shamardal), whose lone win may have come in the provinces but she is a daughter of the G3 Nell Gwyn S winner Cloud Castle (GB) (In The Wings {GB}) and is a...

The breeding stock sales caravan rolls on to France this weekend for the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, and while the pandemic will inevitably lead to fewer making the pilgrimage to Deauville, a typically strong and diverse catalogue-buoyed by another good year on the world's racecourses for the sale's graduates-means that global enthusiasm is unlikely to be dampened at the four-day sale that runs Dec. 5 through 8. "Given the circumstances it's a relief to be able to organize the sale," said Ludovic Cornuel, head of bloodstock at Arqana. "This...

Ecurie des Monceaux's Siyouni (Fr) colt (lot 157) out of the beautifully bred young mare Prudente (Fr) (Dansili {GB}) became the highest-priced yearling sold during the first of five days of the Arqana October yearling sale on Monday when knocked down to Al Shaqab Racing for €525,000. The colt is the second foal out of the mare, who is a winning full-sister to Prudenzia (Ire), the dam of Group 1 winners Magic Wand (Ire) and Chicquita (Ire), as well as stakes producer Pacifique (Ire). Prudente's first foal, a Galileo (Ire)...

By Emma Berry and Kelsey Riley DEAUVILLE, France—Arqana's Deauville Select Yearling Sale drew to a close on Friday with its Part II session, where trade settled to a more workmanlike pace following the frenzy of bluebloods that went through the ring earlier in the week. The third-day clearance rate of 79% outpointed Part I's 70.5% clearance rate, with vendors appearing to set reasonable reserves. Part II returned an average of €52,433 and a median of €43,000 for 142 sold for an aggregate of €7,445,500; the comparable third day of Arqana's...

By Emma Berry and Kelsey Riley DEAUVILLE, France—More diva than starlet, the Dubawi (Ire) filly put in a few feisty bucks in the Arqana sales ring, but when one is in as much demand as she was, a touch of high jinks can be forgiven. If Wednesday's trade spluttered into action, Thursday's was pretty explosive from the start, but it was the appearance of two blue-blooded yearlings from the sale's perennial leading consignor Ecurie des Monceaux who really brought the ring to life. It was a toss-up as to whether...

Henri Bozo talks about Ecurie des Monceaux's 40-strong draft for next week's Deauville Select Yearling Sale, and the opportunities available to buyers throughout the catalogue. [audio mp3="https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Henri-Bozo_Podcast.mp3"][/audio]

As the leading consignor at the Arqana August Yearling Sale for eight years running, the team at Ecurie des Monceaux knows a thing or two about the importance of drawing a diverse, international assortment of buyers for the blueblooded yearlings on display. Not only did Monceaux breed and sell the top three lots at the 2019 edition of Arqana's flagship sale; it also offered the sale's only two seven-figure yearlings, which went through the ring back-to-back and sold to Godolphin (a €1.625-million Dubawi {Ire} filly now named Philomene {Ire} who...