Yann Barberot outbids Jean-Claude Rouget for €290,000 Siyouni filly
The purchase was another sale-topper for the red-hot Ecurie des Monceaux
The third and final day of Arqana’s rearranged Select Yearling Sale was dedicated to part two of the catalogue, with a handful of lots realising three-figure sales on a day which is traditionally a chance for home trainers and agents to stock up.
Trainer Yann Barberot came out on top of a protracted bidding war with Jean-Claude Rouget, among others, when signing for Ecurie des Monceaux’s Siyouni (Pivotal) filly at €290,000 (approx AUD$471,500), concluding an excellent week for the consignor, who topped trade with two millionaire lots.
The filly is out of the unraced mare Special Gift (New Approach), whose best offspring to date is the three-time winner Global Gift (Invincible Spirit) and among her relations is Irish 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) heroine Halfway To Heaven (Pivotal), dam of the mighty Magical (Galileo) and Rhododendron (Galileo).
Barberot said: “We loved her and I’d already seen her in the company of Olivier Thomas and Philippe Allaire. I bought her for Normandy Spirit which is a partnership.
He added: “I loved her but I didn’t think she’d make that much. She walks really well and she carries the stamp of Siyouni.”
Al Shaqab end trade with Bassett purchase
Al Shaqab had a busy three days with representatives from their first-crop stallions among those offered, and they themselves got in on the thick of the action on Friday when going to €180,000 (approx AUD$292,000) for Samos, (Wootton Bassett) from the family of Moyglare Stud winner Cursory Glance (Distorted Humor).
Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore Agency, bidding on behalf of Al Shaqab, said: “We had to fight a lot but we’ve been lucky in the past with Wootton Bassett including with a nice horse called Wooded, and we’re happy to invest in another son.”
Wootton Bassett secured two of the top four prices of the day and is responsible for this year’s Prix Jean Romanet (Gr 1, 2000m) heroine Audarya among 15 stakes winners overall.
De Watrigant made another six-figure purchase when signing for a Kodiac (Danehill) filly on behalf of owner Jean-Claude Seroul. She is out of the four-time winning mare Purple Magic (Rip Van Winkle) and a relation to the Group 2 winner Cesare (Machiavellian).
Coolmore top of the lot for popular colt
Coolmore came to the fore for their latest stallion recruit Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) when Laurent Benoit struck a €140,000 winning bid for the colt out of the winning mare Mezzo Mezzo (Mount Nelson).
Benoit said: “Following the acquisition of Wootton Bassett by Coolmore, we were looking for a son of his. I bought him for MV Magnier and he will go to Andre Fabre. We looked at all the Wootton Bassetts and we came down on him.
“Andre Fabre will be delighted to rekindle the link with Zafonic, which will bring back good memories and this will be his first Wootton Bassett.”
Earlier on in the day, a Kodiac half-brother to the Group 3-winning Alounak (Camelot) also traded hands for €140,000 (approx AUD$227,500), with BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe confirming the smart looking colt would likely head to Ireland.
He said of the Haras de Castillon-consigned lot: “He’s a fabulous individual. He looks very precocious and a real two-year-old, quite typical of the sire. The Danehill line has worked well in the family, we liked everything about him and he vetted very clean. He’s by a proven stallion and from a proven family so he ticked all the boxes.”
Donohoe added that the horse had been bought for a Middle Eastern client, who already has horses in training in Europe, and a trainer will be decided later this year.
Rouget strikes for Whitecliffsofdover
Jean-Claude Rouget has made his presence felt over the three days and he went to €135,000 (AUD$219,500) to secure James Bere, the only son of Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Gr 1, 1600m) third Whitecliffsofdover (War Front) offered at the sale.
He explained: “I’ve had a lot of success with this mare’s offspring and he’s as good looking as any of them. As this is her last I’ll try and turn him into a stallion! He’s a lovely looking colt and I’m sure I paid too much but two of us loved him as my good friend Frederic Rossi was after him as well.”
Rouget also went to €105,000 (approx AUD$171,000) when purchasing Perle Blue, (Le Havre) a filly from the family of Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) scorer Protectionist (Monsun) and staying supremo Stradivarius (Sea The Stars), as well as €100,000 (approx AUD$162,500) for a Zarak (Dubawi) filly offered by Haras des Capucines.
Allaire to the fore with six-figure purchase
Barberot also took aim when purchasing a Churchill (Galileo) relation to the brilliant Danedream (Lomitas) and Great Voltigeur (Gr 2, 1m 4f) scorer Venice Beach (Galileo) for €100,000 (approx AUD$162,500).
Bought for Philippe Allaire, a major breeder and trainer of trotting horses, the filly is the third offspring from Ignis Away (Gold Away) whose first produce was the winning filly Heart Reef (Australia).
Barberot said: “When the mare’s first produce is a winner it’s a pretty straightforward decision to buy. She’s from a good family and is a nice breeding prospect. I don’t see her as being especially precocious and I hope she will make a nice three-year-old. She certainly has the build for that.”
On the subject of his association with Allaire – director of the Haras Bouttemont which stands the legendary trotting stallion Ready Cash – Barberot added: “We’ve been lucky with our two-year-old Bouttemont, who won well the other day. It’s great to work closely with another professional [like Allaire] and you can always learn more.”
German bid for Lope De Vega colt
Ballylinch Stud stalwart Lope De Vega (Shamardal) continued his fine sales form when the Gestut Ammerland-consigned colt was purchased for €100,000 (approx AUD$162,500) by Henk Grewe on behalf of Cologne Racing Club President Ecki Sauren.
Grewe said: “It’s a German family and we love Lope De Vega. Hopefully for this money it’s a good buy. He’ll go to Germany to the stud for a few weeks and then come to my stables in Cologne.”
The first three-figure lot of the session went to Channel Consignment’s Wootton Bassett filly out of the Listed-winning Alta Stima (Raven’s Pass). Reaching the €100,000 (approx AUD$162,500) mark, Jean-Michel Lefebvre, on behalf of Ecurie Melanie, signed the docket.
He said: “We really wanted a nice daughter of Wootton Bassett and she looks a real two-year-old type. We liked the look of her physically and we really fell for her.”
Friday’s session concluded the sale, and overall turnover amounted to €37,671,500 (approx AUD$61.27m), an average of €121,915 (approx AUD$198,000) and a median of €70,000 (approx AUD$114,000). There was a 74 per cent clearance rate, with 309 of 415 lots selling. The figures are not directly comparable with the results from last year’s August and V2 sales.
Almanzor leading first-crop sire
Almanzor’s (Wootton Bassett) first-crop yearlings were hugely popular during Part I of the Arqana sale earlier in the week and that trend continued on Friday.
The Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion ended the Deauville auction as the leading first-season sire, with 19 yearlings selling at an average of €126,789 (approx AUD$206,000) and a top price during the opening session of €280,000 (approx AUD$455,000).
On the closing day of the auction Almanzor had another three six-figure sales led by a colt, Lot 458, that made €110,000 (approx AUD$178,000). He was sold by Haras d’Etreham, Almanzor’s Northern Hemisphere home, and is a half-brother to the Prix Djebel (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Dice Roll (Showcasing). The colt was purchased by the Broadhurst Agency, while a granddaughter of Irish 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) winner Yesterday (Sadler’s Wells), Lot 431, sold to Oceanic Bloodstock for €105,000 (approx AUD$170,000).
Almanzor’s sire Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) also enjoyed an outstanding sale. His current yearlings were bred from his 2018 fee of €20,000 (approx AUD$32,500) and this week have sold at an average price more than five times that fee. A colt, already named Samos, Lot 437, was his most expensive representative on day three when sold to Al Shaqab Racing for €180,000 (approx AUD$292,000).
Almanzor is available at Cambridge Stud for a fee of $30,000 (plus GST) this season.