Showcasing Colt For Godolphin At Arqana

DEAUVILLE, France—Even in his absence Anthony Stroud still had an impact on proceedings at Arqana, buying on behalf of Godolphin lot 203, the session-leading Showcasing (GB) colt from Haras de Castillon for €300,000.

Andre Fabre will train the half-brother to two stakes horses, including G3 Prix Daphnis winner Ziyarid (Fr) (Desert Style {Ire}). The colt is a son of dual winner Zayanida (Fr) (King's Best), who was bought from her breeder the Aga Khan in 2015 for €47,000.

“He's an athletic individual, very correct and well-balanced— and that was my final bid,” said Stroud who had conducted the bidding through Freddy Powell on the telephone.

The colt's sale prompted a flurry of activity early in the session, with the following horse through the ring (lot 204) fetching a bid of €200,000 from Sebastian Desmontils, once again acting in his guise as Chauvigny Global Equine and buying on behalf of an undisclosed Japanese owner who is gradually compiling a string of racehorses to campaign in France.

Returned to his vendor at £28,000 when offered as a foal last year, the Wootton Bassett (GB) colt out of Accalmie (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) hails from the family of Classic winner Falco (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}).

“Wootton Bassett is a truly good stallion,” said Desmontils. “This is a lovely colt from a very good family and he will stay in France to go into training.”

Wootton Bassett was also on the shopping list of Hubert Guy, who went to €135,000 for lot 190, a filly named Girl On The Moon (Fr), a half-sister to Cagnes-sur-Mer listed winner Mademoiselle Marie (Fr) (Evasive) and out of the Miesque's Son mare Tempera Noire (Fr).

“She's a beautiful filly by a very good stallion and the mare has already produced a listed winner,” said the agent of the Haras d'Etreham-consigned filly. “I've bought her on behalf of a syndicate and she will probably go into training with Fabrice Chappet.”

The filly was a first foal pinhook for Australian Sally Williams, who bid €50,000 for her as a foal at the December Sale through Belmont Bloodstock.

Direct daily comparisons with last year are problematic owing to a slight rejigging of format and numbers at the 2019 October Sale. For example, the second session was significantly larger this year, with an extra 59 lots catalogued. The clearance rate weakened slightly to 76%, with 133 of those yearlings sold at an average of €41,489 (+26%) and median of €30,000, which was up from €24,000.

At the halfway stage, with two quieter sessions to come on Thursday and Friday, turnover is roughly on par year-on-year, with €14,492,000 having changed hands so far for 241 horses.

Investing In The Future Of France's Oldest Stud
Alban de Mieulle continued his October buying spree on behalf of Sheikh Adbdulla Bin Khalifa Al Thani and was responsible for a good result for Darley freshman Territories (Ire), whose filly out of the Singspiel (Ire) mare Irish Song (Ire) brought the hammer down at €260,000.

Lot 277, consigned by JK Thoroughbreds for Australian breeder Peter Anastasiou, had benefited from a decent update only hours earlier when her half-brother Celtic Art (Fr) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) was runner-up to Tammani (GB) (Make Believe {GB}) in the listed Prix Isonomy at Deauville for owners Jim and Fitri Hay and it was no surprise to see the colt's trainer Paul Cole make an attempt on his sister, but he ultimately had to settle for the role of underbidder. The trainer's son Alex was later successful in his pursuit of a Shalaa (Ire) colt (lot 324) out of a sister to crack sprinter Namid (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), who sold for €130,000.

“She is a lovely racy filly with several things in her favour for the future,” said de Mieulle of the Territories filly. “Sheikh Abdulla was very keen to buy her.”

De Mieulle also went to €130,000 for lot 255, a Zoffany (Ire) filly out of Fill My Heart (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), a full-sister to champion racemare Pride (Ire). The filly's breeders Sven and Carina Hanson were on hand to wish de Mieulle luck on his new purchase, who was consigned by Anna Sundsrom's Coulonces Consignment.

“She has everything we look for in a filly,” said de Mieulle. “Firstly, she has the page, and she is also very good looking. She will go to be broken in first and then we will decide where she will go into training later.”

Following a trio of purchases on Tuesday, de Mieulle, who has also trained a string of Arab racehorses for the sheikh in Qatar and France, signed for a total of nine yearlings on the owner-breeder's behalf to head the buyers' table after the first two days. Sheikh Abdulla, who has enjoyed success on the track this year with homebred G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin winner French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}), recently bought France's oldest Thoroughbred stud, Haras de Victot.

De Mieulle added, “The Sheikh will start taking full ownership of the stud next year, and that is why he is starting to invest in the future.”

Trade Stiff For Breezers
At a sale which is usually a favourite of the Irish breeze-up brigade, there was a notable lack of activity from this sector during the first two sessions, aside from the odd purchase here and there, and several breeze-up consignors said they were finding the market strong for the horses they liked.

Wider international participation included Norwegian trainer Niels Petersen, who bought Haras de Grandcamp's son of Sea The Moon (Ger) (lot 236) for €130,000 through agent Paul Harley. The colt is the second foal of the unraced Galileo (Ire) mare Crystal Sea (Ire), a daughter of GIII Yerba Buena Breeders' Cup H. winner Chiming (Ire) (Danehill).

“I love coming here,” said Petersen. “I've been buying horses here now for five years and we found the winner of the Norwegian Derby here. I hope this colt will be the next one.”

Also making his mark on the second day was Matt Becker of Australia's Group 1 Bloodstock, who bought a Camelot (GB) half-brother to listed-placed Mohab (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) (lot 334) for €110,000 from La Motteraye Consignment.

Bisphosphonate testing
In August 2017, the British Horseracing Authority banned the use of bisphosphonates in any Thoroughbred under the age of three years and six months, with a positive test resulting in a lifetime racing ban in Britain. A further 25 countries are already signatories to IFHA requirements on bisphosphonates, including Ireland and Germany, with America and Australia having recently introduced similar rules. Plans are in place for France to fall in line with fellow racing nations, with a ban on the use of bisphosphonates coming into place for the foal crop of 2020. However, a recent positive raceday test in a 2-year-old in training in Britain who had been bought as a yearling in France, has heightened awareness of this issue for those looking to race French-bred horses outside the country.

During the October Sale at Arqana, announcements have been made from the rostrum regarding certain yearlings which were declared by their vendors to have been treated with bisphosphonates prior to the sale, and buyers can opt for blood samples to be taken immediately post-sale to test for the drug's presence.