Godolphin Gets Dubawi Colt on Final Day at Arqana Sale

Chatter on the ground in Deauville suggested the Dubawi  colt out of Golden Valentine  could be something out of the ordinary, and the whispers proved well founded as the Godolphin buying team went to €2,000,000 (US$2,050,960) to deny Charlie Gordon-Watson when Ecurie des Monceaux presented the highly touted youngster during the final blockbuster session of the Arqana August Yearling Sale on Aug. 15.

Increases came in a pick and mix of €50,000 ($51,274) and €100,000 ($102,548) increments as the rival camps to-and-froed deep into seven-figure territory. However, as is so often the case when well-bred lots by Dubawi appear on the public market, Godolphin were not to be denied.

The colt was bred in partnership between Monceaux and the Roth family's LNJ Foxwoods and is the third foal out of the Prix Minerve (G3) winner Golden Valentine, who in turn is out of Gold Round, a half sibling to the brilliant Goldikova and the Qatar Prix Vermeille (G1) heroine Galikova .

"He's an exceptional horse who's very light on his feet," said Anthony Stroud, who was joined by David Loder as he signed the fourth seven-figure docket generated at the August Sale. "Dubawi is a brilliant stallion and the team thought he was the one we really wanted to get."

The Monceaux draft was the source of three out of the four seven-figure lots, including the €2.1 million ($2,153,571) sales-topping brother to Sottsass , and the operation's director Henri Bozo reflected on the farm's latest millionaire graduate by saying: "I think he was a spectacular colt with a lot of class and a great attitude. I was expecting a good sale and we're not disappointed.

"Dubawi is a stallion we've used as much as we can and hopefully they end up being champions on the racetrack because that's really what counts. He was bred in partnership with the Roths, who are great partners. It's great for France to have such supporters."

Godolphin were out clear at the top of the buyers' chart with Sheikh Mohammed's operation contributing €5.55 million ($5,640,305) to the aggregate with a six-strong haul. This included the €1.6 million ($1,645,344) Shamardal  colt who topped Day One.

Monceaux dominated the consignors' standings for the 11th year running, as 31 yearlings sold for €12.38 million ($12,695,814). Bozo remained stony-faced during the bidding on the Dubawi colt out of Golden Valentine but said: "I'm good at hiding my emotions! It's enjoyable and we usually don't put a high reserve so I'm relaxed during the bidding because I knew there was plenty of interest in this colt."

Record Returns

A notably strong final session helped the August Sale post record returns across all key market indices. Turnover topped €50 million ($51,275,500) for the first time with an aggregate of €50,406,000 ($51,691,857), which was up a huge 26% year on year.

The average saw an even greater increase, up 28% to €210,025 ($215,383), the first time the €200,000 mark has been broken by this metric, while the median was also a record at €140,000 ($143,571), a 40% gain compared to last year's €100,000.

However, arguably the most impressive statistic of all, given the blue-chip nature of the stock on offer, was the clearance rate of 84% as 240 lots sold from 285 presented, which was actually 40 fewer than 2021's offering.