Arqana Moves Up Select Sale of Yearlings to Sept. 8

Arqana has brought next month's Select Sale forward by more than a fortnight to between Sept. 8-10 inclusive as a response to the recently implemented COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.

The French auction house undertook extensive consultation with vendors and buyers potentially affected by the new constraints, which include those of the British government that any person entering the United Kingdom from France would be subject to 14 days of self-isolation.

As a result of the pandemic, the yearling schedule is particularly packed and the initial date of Sept. 24-26 would not have allowed buyers to take part in all three major European sales while abiding by the quarantine rules.

British buyers make a large contribution to the sale's turnover, and the new date should make life easier for those also wanting to travel and obey the necessary regulations at Goffs Orby and Tattersalls in Newmarket.

"The catalog for the Select Sale is of outstanding quality, and we are committed to providing these exceptional young horses with the best possible marketplace," Arqana CEO Eric Hoyeau and executive director Freddy Powell said in a statement.

"This requires holding the sale at a time that maximizes the chances for French and international buyers to be on attendance in Deauville. We wish to pay tribute to the reactivity and adaptability of all our vendors, who have immediately thrown their support behind this unusual change.

"Arqana will charter private flights from several locations in order to make the trip to Deauville as quick and secure as possible. We are also working day in day out to make remote participation easy.

"Online bidding will be available via Arqanaonline.com, while all yearlings are currently being filmed on the farms. Videos will be visible on our website, allowing buyers wherever they are to get a foretaste of the extraordinary collection of colts and fillies on offer."