Shalaa Filly Heads Market as Trade Cools at Arqana

After two days of blistering trade and big prices, proceedings took a rather more prosaic turn at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale Dec. 9. 

Figures were almost identical to the corresponding session 12 months ago, and the top lot was a filly from the second crop of Shalaa who went the way of young French agent Nicolas Lefevre for €87,000 (US$114,265).

"The horse will come back to the sales as a yearling," the buyer said. "I have huge confidence in Shalaa; I saw a lot of his yearlings this year and they were a great bunch."

The filly is out of the listed-winning Anabaa mare Mytographie, whose four winners include Mutin, a listed scorer by Kentucky Dynamite, and Tradigraphie, a seven-time winner by Mr Sidney.

"The mare has done really well from fairly unfashionable coverings," said Lefevre, who purchased her on behalf of a pinhooking syndicate. "Now that she's been covered by Le Havre, Intello, and Shalaa I think there is a good chance the pedigree can improve further. Anabaa is a great damsire too."

Shalaa's debut crop of yearlings, who hit the market this year, sold at an average of £105,950 ($139,154) and included a colt who was sold to Narvick International for €600,000 ($663,317) during the Arqana August Sale.

De Watrigant Secures Galileo's Daughter

For much of the day the market was headed by Petite Noblesse, who was knocked down to Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International at €74,000 ($97,191).

Offered by Haras d'Etreham, the 10-year-old daughter of Galileo has already produced two winners, including the 3-year-old Kendargent filly Noblesse d'Argent, who provided her dam with a notable update when she won at Deauville a week before the sale.

"She's a beautiful mare by Galileo," De Watrigant said. "We also bought this mare's Le Havre yearling (for €22,000) for the owner who's invested today. She's a good-looking filly and Noblesse d'Argent has won since the catalog came out—she's won her last two races now."

Petite Noblesse is out of Flower Bowl, an Anabaa half sister to five black-type performers, most notably Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, G1) and Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby, G1) hero and star sire Lope de Vega and the group 3-winning Lady Frankel.

"It's a beautiful family with horses like Lady Vettori and Lope de Vega on the page," continued De Watrigant, who was joined by Haras du Cadran's Pierre Talvard. "She's in foal to Wootton Bassett too, so with the pedigree and the covering it's all positive. I don't know who she'll be covered by next year but she's been bought in partnership between my client and Haras du Cadran."

Boman Bags Wichita Sibling

The Deauville sales ground was notably quieter than it had been during the previous two sessions, but Blandford Bloodstock's Stuart Boman was among the agents who had stayed on for the third day, and his perseverance was rewarded when he secured a half sister to one of the year's leading juveniles at €57,000 ($74,863).

Algtaah boasted one of the session's more eye-catching pages, as not only is the daughter of High Chaparral out of the listed-winning Lumiere Noire, but she is also a half sister to the Aidan O'Brien-trained Wichita—a son of No Nay Never who landed the group 3 Tattersalls Somerville Stakes by a jaw-dropping seven lengths.

"She's a half sister to a very good horse in Wichita," Boman said. "He's already been third in the (Darley) Dewhurst (G1) and could easily train on into a Guineas horse. She's a lovely mare too, a mare with a great walk; I'm happy to get her. She's been bought for an existing client."

Algtaah joined the Al Shaqab Racing ranks when purchased for €280,000 ($373,184) at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in 2013. She ran three times for Mikel Delzangles and won at Montier-En-Der on her final outing. The 7-year-old was offered in foal to Haras de Bouquetot's Zelzal.

Earlier in the sale Boman had been joined at Arqana by his Blandford colleagues Tom Goff, Richard Brown and Tom Biggs, and on the firm's activities he said: "We've had a good week. Between the group we've probably bought 12 or 13 lots.

"It's been strong trade but we always like coming here. It's a sale we target because there are opportunities away from the obvious horses, so if you do your homework and stay late you can buy a nice horse."

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale concludes Dec. 10.