Arqana Breeding Stock Sale Set to Begin Dec. 4

The breeding stock sales bandwagon rolls into Deauville Dec. 4 with Arqana's four-day event due to kick off at 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. GMT).

Some 1,024 lots of fillies, mares, and foals have been cataloged to the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale, including a handful of youngsters with fresh group 1 form to their name. There is a new name among the consignors' index, albeit with some familiar faces at the helm, with Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe set to offer its debut draft.

The operation, which was formed in November 2020 and comprises Hesmonds Stud in Lewes and the Normandy-based pair of Montfort & Preaux and Haras du Mezeray, consigns 18 lots, including an important wildcard entry, this year's Prix de l'Opera Longines (G1) heroine Rougir  (Lot 160).

The daughter of Territories  has been a most talented and progressive performer for trainer Cedric Rossi and the Cheboub family's Haras de la Gousserie. She has won four times, including three races at 2, when she claimed the Prix des Reservoirs (G3) and was third to Tiger Tanaka  in the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (G1).

She took her form to new heights this year, first when beaten just half a length by Mother Earth  in the Prix Rothschild (G1), then when a head third to Rumi  in the Prix de la Nonette (G2) before she made her group 1 breakthrough in the Prix de l'Opera, in which she beat Grand Glory , who will also come under the hammer at Arqana (Lot 192), as will the third home Eudaimonia  (Lot 200).

Previous group 1 winners Audarya  and Thundering Nights  were back in fourth and fifth, respectively.

"Rougir is a phenomenal filly," said Sumbe's Mathieu Alex. "She ran in the Breeders' Cup (finished seventh in the Filly & Mare Turf, G1T) then went into training for a while and she arrived on the farm 10 days ago.

"She's a lovely filly with a great temperament, she's got a lot of class, and I'm very happy with her. She's only a 3-year-old; she's very sound with very clean X-rays and scopes. Opportunities to buy this kind of filly are very rare."

Expanding on how Sumbe came to present Rougir at Arqana, Alex said: "I've known Mr. (Kamel) Chehboub for a while and we have a very good relationship. He wanted to have some mares in Normandy and with Mr. Bizakov buying the farm here (Mezeray) we got back in touch. A few weeks ago he very kindly asked us if we would consign this filly for him and naturally we said we'd be happy to do so."

Moreover, Rougir is not the only high-class filly that Sumbe will present during Saturday's headline session, with Speak of the Devil  (Lot 172) set to enter the Deauville ring several lots later. The daughter of Wootton Bassett  has won five races, including a quartet of listed events. She won back-to-back listed contests on her last two outings for Frederic Rossi, namely the Prix Isola Bella and Prix Tantieme.

She boasts some solid group 1 form to her name too, having finished third, one place ahead of Rougir, in the Prix Rothschild won by Mother Earth, while she also ran second, beaten by a rapidly diminishing nose, in the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (G1) won by Dream And Do .

Speak of the Devil will be consigned by Sumbe on behalf of owner Rashit Shaykhutdinov, who also offers his homebred Frankel's Magic  (Lot 190), a stakes-placed daughter of Frankel  from the family of Fame And Glory.

"Speak of the Devil is a very good-looking filly who's by a hot sire in Wootton Bassett," said Alex. "She's a proper group 1 filly. She's another who is very sound and I think she could be a fun prospect to race on."

There are plenty of other highlights in the bumper catalog, including Gestut Ammerland's Wildfeder (Lot 188), a Galileo sister to Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) hero Waldgeist  and a three-parts sister to Waldlied, who topped the Tattersalls December Mares Sale at 2,200,000 guineas (US$3,075,899) when Newsells Park Stud bought out their partners through Jill Lamb.

Other eye-catching entries include the group 1-placed fillies Aloha Star  (Lot 182) and Purplepay  (Lot 150), and the group 3 scorers Parent's Prayer  (Lot 147) and No Limit Credit  (Lot 158). The Aga Khan Studs and Godolphin also send typical strong and sizeable drafts.

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale follows hot on the heels of particularly strong renewals of the Goffs and Tattersalls equivalents, and Alex said he was optimistic that the momentum generated at those events would be maintained in Deauville.

"The market has been very strong this year, especially in Ireland and Britain, and I think that will carry on here, which is great for the game," he said. "There's a lot of people coming from all over the world, obviously from France, Britain, and Ireland but also America, Australia, and Japan.

"It's the first year consigning as Sumbe and it's very exciting to be here with such a very good draft. It's something we'd like to do more of in the future, especially at this time of the year.

"It's a great opportunity to meet people and talk about our stallions and the breeding operation. We're very grateful to the owners who have put their faith in us. Now let's hope we can do the job!"