Osarus A Growing French Force

When it comes to European yearlings sales, the Osarus September Sale is still regarded as the new kid on the block, but it is one which has made plenty of agents and trainers from outside France sit up and take notice over the last few years.

Held at Hippodrome du Bequet at La Teste de Buch just outside Bordeaux, the sale is now in its eighth year and has three stakes-winning juveniles to crow about from last year's edition, which saw the €100,000-mark breached for the first time.

A 2-year-old winner at Royal Ascot is decent currency in any country, and Osarus was given the perfect advertisement when Suits You (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}) strode to victory in the Listed Chesham S., pipping the much-vaunted Ballydoyle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) en route. Bought at La Teste by his trainer, the French-based Irishman Eoghan O'Neill, for just €12,000, Suits You has now been sold on to Hong Kong for a presumably handsome profit after winning his first two racecourse starts.

Another inexpensive purchase, Katie's Diamond (Fr) (Turtle Bowl {Ire}), who was bought by English trainer Karl Burke for €18,000 and won the Listed Empress S. at Newmarket in June, along with the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained The Turning Point (Fr) (Hurricane Cat), a stakes winner on home turf and a €23,000 yearling purchase, are examples of the good value to be found at Osarus's headline sale. The fact that every horse offered is eligible for the lucrative French owners' premiums is an extra lure, particularly for the portion of trainers who are increasingly drawn to making cross-Channel raids in a bid to buffer earnings while British prize-money remains so woefully low.

Its clash with the mammoth Keeneland September Sale may keep some agents and trainers at bay, but an increasing number are making the pleasant pilgrimage to Bordeaux, including Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock. He said, “I've come down here this year because the sale has had some good results– the likes of Suits You and Katie's Diamond piqued my interest–but also because I've had some luck buying horses with French premiums for British-based owners.

I think the quality of the horse here is improving– probably thanks to the investment and marketing by Tattersalls, which has encouraged owners to send better horses here. I'd say there are more British buyers here as than ever before.”

Across the next two days, 254 yearlings are scheduled to go under the hammer at Osarus, including 14 from last year's leading vendor La Motteraye Consignment, which set a new benchmark when selling a daughter of Le Havre (Fr) for €130,000.

“The sale has improved each year and the complex is much better here now,” says Gwen Monneraye, who runs Normandy-based La Motteraye with his partner Lucie Lamotte. “It's great to have more choice of sales in France and we like to support this sale. It's becoming more selective, which is a good thing.”

Haras de la Cauviniere's Le Havre has been one of the great French stallion success stories of recent seasons, and he has a colt and a filly on offer in the sale, but one of the strongest representations numerically is from his stud-mate, the freshman Rajsaman (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}), the busiest new sire in France on his retirement, who has 12 yearlings slated to sell.

Fellow first-season sires Tin Horse (Ire) (Sakhee) of Haras de Grandcamp and Haras du Logis resident Rio De La Plata (Rahy) are also among those on offer, with 10 and five yearlings apiece.

Making a debut appearance as a vendor at Osarus is Charles Briere de la Hosseraye, who operates as the Fairway Consignment and is based in Normandy.

“This is the first time I've ever been to La Teste and I'm very happy with the set-up,” said the young consignor, who offered his first yearlings at Arqana in August. He added, “I've spent time working in Ireland and America, at Coolmore and with Bill Dwan, and I did three years with Peter O'Callaghan at Wood's Edge Farm in Kentucky.”

Briere de la Hosseraye is selling two pinhooked colts by Motivator (GB) and Sunday Break (Jpn).

Jean-Claude Rouget, who trains not far from La Teste in Pau, has been a major supporter of the sale since its inception and bought nine yearlings last year for €232,000. He was again among those inspecting horses on Monday, along with fellow trainers Christophe Ferland, Nicholas Bertran de Balanda, Karl Burke, Giles Bravery and Eve Johnson Houghton, while overseas agents included Alastair Donald, Liam Norris, William Huntingdon, Johnny McKeever and Paul Moroney.

The sale gets underway today at 12.30 p.m. local time.