Arqana October Sale Shows Slight Fall From 2018

Arqana's four-day October Yearling Sale wound down Oct. 25 with a low-key final session, as the company seeks to give clearer definition to each part of its buying base. 

The total business for the week finished at €17.6 million (US$19,572,900), a decline of 4% from 2018, while the clearance rate was also down by a similar amount at 74%.

Session comparisons have been made difficult given a quite serious restructuring of the week, and the company was pleased with the move to give each day a more coherent and individual identity. 

"The new format worked well and there was actually a small rise in the average price, though not enough to help out the clearance rate," said director of business development Alix Choppin.  

Arqana president Eric Hoyeau stressed that many of the European sales houses had experienced a difficult autumn at the level below their premium offering. And he pointed out that, taken as a whole with the three-day August sale, it's V2 sibling and this week's October offering, the company was more than €5.5 million ($6,116,530) ahead of turnover for yearlings sold compared to 2018, with sales totaling €65.6 million ($72,953,500).

Stallions raced and stood by owner Guy Pariente were responsible for two of those lots that did spark some healthy competition among buyers during a short final session Friday, sharing top billing at €26,000 ($28,872). 

Goken has his first yearling crop in 2019 and a half brother to one of Italy's leading 2-year-olds caught the eye of several bidders, eventually going to Tina Rau and Nicolas Clement.

"He's a really racy colt with a good attitude, while the mare seems to be doing it," said Rau. "There's a big update in the catalog and he's by a promising young sire. We've bought him on spec."

The update came courtesy of Wootton's Colt, who broke the San Siro 2-year-old track record when he earned a second win from two starts in the listed Criterium Nazionale.

Consigned by Haras de l'Aumonerie, the colt's dam Teth hails from the Niarchos family of Bago, Maxios, and Senga and is out of Criterium de Vitesse winner Beta.

Kendargent is beginning to earn a reputation as a useful broodmare sire, supplying fellow Haras de Colleville resident Galiway with a first group success at stud via Prix la Rochette (G3) winner Kenway.

That thinking clearly influenced agent Herve Bunel in securing a filly bred by Haras de Meautry. 

The dam is a winning daughter of Invincible Spirit out of England's Legend, herself a wide-margin winner of the 2001 Beverly D. Stakes (G1) in the Rothschild silks. 

"She has a nice pedigree, she is well-proportioned and the fact she is by Kendargent is interesting from the perspective of a future breeding career, as I think it's a good cross," Bunel said.