More Aga Khan Gold At Arqana

Nobody knows better than the Aga Khan that he is engaged on a long game–one that demands not only patience but sometimes fatalism as well. So if the mares he is discarding at Deauville this weekend prove as fertile as some of their predecessors, notably during the past year, he will know that any short-term vexation is likely to be amply redressed in the long term.

It would be easy to wring your hands over the cut-price sale here, five years ago, of Darkova (Maria's Mon)–now celebrated as the dam of Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). But the fact is that the Aga Khan Studs brand only gains if you can breed a European champion from a €16,000 dam. The beauty of the process is that it is so reciprocal. On the one hand, those mares that excel for new owners continue to serve pedigrees nurtured through so many generations, both human and equine. Their families, of course, are almost invariably still represented at Gilltown or Bonneval. On the other hand, investors can suddenly gain a spectacular harvest through the good offices of horses still in the Aga Khan's service–as was the case, this year, when the Derby was won by the son of a mare sold at Goffs 18 months previously.

The top 12-furlong prize for 3-year-olds in France, the Grand Prix de Paris, was another won by a colt bred from an Aga Khan mare, in her case sold at Goffs. But those sifting through the consignment at Arqana this week know that they are prospecting especially fertile territory. Quite apart from the incredible Darkova story, this same ring has during 2016 yielded Vadamos (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), a Group 1 winner bred from Celebre Vadala (Fr) (Peintre Celebre), a €525,000 graduate of the 2008 sale; Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a Group 2 winner out of Dialafara (Fr) (Anabaa), who cost €175,000 two years later; and, in Australia, a smart juvenile in 'TDN Rising Star' Khan (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), whose dam changed hands for just €30,000 at the same sale.

Georges Rimaud, who supervises the local wing of Aga Khan Studs, explains that dividends of this kind are essential to sustain the market–and so to ensure that the culling process contributes to the larger strategy. “It's the same for every big breeding operation,” he tells the TDN. “We have around 150 foals born every year, half being fillies, so mathematically it's clear that we really have to reduce the mares to keep numbers under control. We try to keep their total at around 180 to 185, and currently would have a little bit above 200. So we're putting 52 or 53 through the sales, 26 at Arqana and the rest at Goffs last week.”

In order to maximise the commercial appeal of surplus mares, those chosen tend to be divided between young fillies, arriving with a clean slate, and mares aged roughly 10 to 14 years, with a legible producing pattern and still time to develop a different angle. “Of course, we don't know that they're going to produce very good horses when we sell them,” Rimaud says. “But when they do, it's not something we really look at. It's simply a case of keeping the numbers we have, from certain families, at the right level. Yes, it's great for the market, when they do turn out well: it will help future sales. But that's not our main goal. Our main goal is to have a healthy broodmare bunch, and healthy numbers. And whether or not they can quite keep our heads above the water, financially, at least we know Aga Khan mares will sell well because people know we retain colts and fillies in the families. On the sales grounds our people will always have a list of those horses that are keeping the families active, and that gives great confidence to the buyer.”

Rimaud says that his employer is too well-versed in the unpredictability of the Thoroughbred to indulge in recriminations when it turns out that a piece of genetic family silver has been cheaply offloaded. “There's never any difficulty on that account,” he insists. “His Highness knows that it's part of the game and that we just have to go with that. I suppose it can sometimes be frustrating for him, but his long-lasting experience makes him wise to it. In the end it's the result of a business model that works well for us.”

That said, Rimaud grants that this year has been “quite exceptional” in terms of the dividends for customers in years past. “Darkova was obviously a good example of a mare sold for a moderate price,” he reflects. “She was unraced but very well bred, by Maria's Mon and so offered an interesting outcross possibility. She obviously turned out to be very good luck for her new owners. We've also sold some good racing fillies. Possibly that is something you would like to avoid, but when you cull that kind of number it's inevitable that some will always fall through the cracks, maybe because their families are not quite so precocious. Of course there are going to be times when you find you have culled a bit too quickly, but it's all a bit of a chess game. And the fact that quality mares may be sold keeps the Aga Khan brand very attractive.”

Before assessing the next turn of the carousel, Rimaud stresses that different horses will appeal to different markets–all capable of generating a yield. So while the Arqana draft has consistently featured mares that went on to produce top runners, in recent times it has also contained the seeds of a much more immediate dividend.

“Buying a good mare in foal to a good stallion can produce a very quick return,” Rimaud remarks. “Vadawina (Ire) (Unfuwain) was in foal to Redoute's Choice (Aus) (Danehill) when we sold her for €600,000 at this sale three years ago, and the colt was sold as a yearling for €950,000. Her daughter Vedela (Fr) (Selkirk) was sold as a maiden, out of training, for €115,000 [in the 2010 sale]–and her yearling by Invincible Spirit (Ire) (Green Desert) sold for €1.4-million last year.”

Two years ago, moreover, a mare named Amen Desert (Fr) (Green Desert) was sold for just €28,000–and the Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}) filly she was carrying made €380,000 in the same ring last August. She had, it should be noted, been superbly pinhooked in the meantime as a €60,000 foal.

“So there are some very good opportunities for breeders,” Rimaud observes. “I'm not saying it works every time, of course, but it does keep the ball rolling. We don't participate, as such, in the yearling sales–just because it's not our business model–but this kind of thing means we do so in an indirect fashion.”

He is reluctant to pass too subjective a judgement on the mares leaving his roster this time round, reasoning that everyone has diverse tastes and agendas. But he does offer some general observations, before picking out one or two highlights from the draft.

“We do suddenly seem to have found ourselves with quite a lot of younger mares,” he says. “It's difficult to part with them, while there are also one or two fillies that could certainly have a future on the track if that suited their new owners. Otherwise there will, as usual, be mares we feel have produced enough fillies for us already and, as with any culling process, one or two that we've decided have been producing moderately. It's a slightly smaller draft than usual, 26 compared with 30 to 35 as a rule, but it's a very pleasant one. The important thing is that generally they'll all be linked to fillies we're retaining. There are fillies from very nice, solid families, especially in the second dam area, and some very, very nice-looking individuals: correct, well-made fillies of good height and depth.”

Those Rimaud nominates towards the elite end of the spectrum include lot 186, Balankiya (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), already dam of a Group 1 winner in Bayrir (Fr) (Medicean {GB}). Herself a daughter of a stakes winner, and with damsire gold, she is in foal to Mastercraftsman (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

Lot 31, Kozaka (Fr) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), is recommended as the dam of three stakes performers, and shares her grand-dam– who finished third in the Arc–with High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). “She's in foal to Le Havre (Ire) (Noverre), and Lot 26, Kasatana (Ire) (Hernando {Fr}), is also in foal to an up-and-coming French stallion in Siyouni,” Rimaud says.

Kasatana's mother is a half-sister to Kahyasi (GB) (Ile De Bourbon) and has already produced the dam of a Group 1 winner. In addition to these undiluted Aga Khan bloodlines, Rimaud notes the presence of Lagardere flavours in lot 234, Fahrasa (Fr) (Kahyasi {GB}), who is out of a full-sister to two Group 1 winners and is carrying a foal by Maxios (GB) (Monsun {Ger}).

Among the younger stock, Rimaud draws attention to lot 161, Daldiyna (Fr) (Dansili {GB}), a placed 3-year-old half-sister to Group 1 winner Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}). “She was injured in training but is fine now,” he says. “Out of a half-sister to Dalakhani (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) and Daylami (Ire) (Doyoun {GB}), she's obviously extremely well bred. We do have a lot of fillies from her family, and she's just one of those we have to let go in the hope of balancing our books a little.”

Rimaud admits to a soft spot for lot 269, Khazina (Fr) (Alhaarth {Ire}), in foal to Born To Sea (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). “She has produced all types, there are even jumpers in the family, but she's an absolutely lovely mare,” he says. “One that could race again is lot 287, Lailoma (Fr) (Teofilo {Ire}), she has shown some good recent progress. And lot 307, Mouraska (Include), is a winner, by an unusual stallion for us, who could make a good outcross for someone. She's related to two Group 1 stayers in Australia, so it's all good variety. But I must say I don't like to pick out particular horses. In this business, different people like different things. And I think they will all find what they need in our group.”

There was not much competition, after all, for Darkova. And the only member of her family sent to the sales by her breeder this year failed to meet her reserve at Goffs. “She didn't make what we thought she should, so we brought her home,” Rimaud says. “Though whether that's unfortunate or fortunate, we don't know.”

And that's the whole point, of course – that's what gives everyone a chance.