Larrieu Spending Spree Sets Tone at Arqana

The second and final day of the Arqana Summer Sale brought with it a frenetic afternoon of trade in Deauville July 4, with eight six-figure lots and a top price of €445,000 ($518,915). 

The form horse session began in humdrum fashion, but by the time mid-afternoon rolled around, the punchy bids soon started to fly. 

Things took a notable upturn when Masterpiece, a listed-placed son of Mastercraftsman offered by André Fabre, entered the ring. Gordon Elliott, standing by the roped gangway leading to the ring, made a bold play for the rangy 3-year-old, but each bid was bested by a nonchalant Gerard Larrieu, with the hammer eventually coming down in the Frenchman's favor at €345,000 ($402,305). 

Just six lots later, Larrieu returned to the bidding area and—despite finding time to share a joke with some amused bystanders in the heat of a protracted duel—delivered a €445,000 blow to secure the top lot, Esteve, another 3-year-old son of Mastercraftsman who completed a hat trick for Jean-Claude Rouget before heading to auction. 

Larrieu revealed that both horses had been bought on behalf of Khalifa Bin Sheail Al Kuwari and will now head to Qatar to be trained by Jassim Ghazali, but he added that no decision had been made regarding Masterpiece's engagement in the Grand Prix de Paris (G1).

The agent completed a busy afternoon of business when landing Daneyan, a 3-year-old son of Shamardal from the immediate family of Daylami and Dalakhani offered by the Aga Khan Studs, for €102,000 ($118,943). Larrieu signed for a total of five lots for an aggregate of €945,000 ($1,101,470). 

Larrieu, whose previous purchases include finding the brilliant Treve for Al Shaqab, has already enjoyed success in Qatar with Arqana graduates, having sourced The Blue Eye—winner of the prestigious H.H. The Emir's Trophy (G1) in 2016 and 2018—at the 2014 Arc Sale. 

Willie Mullins' buying team of Harold Kirk and Pierre Boulard were among the busier agents in action Wednesday, and their purchases were headed by Staking, with a winning bid of €140,000 ($163,254) being struck from the restaurant behind the rostrum. 

The 3-year-old son of Stormy River was last seen winning over a mile at Longchamp for Nicolas Clement. 

"He's been bought to run over hurdles first and then he'll go back on the flat," said Kirk. "We've been very lucky with horses we've bought out of Nicolas Clement's yard, and he recommended him highly. 

"He's a gorgeous-looking horse and looks like a jumping type. Even though he's only won over a mile, we think he'll stay well, but he's got lots of speed and gears too."

Staking is out of the Linamix mare Shaking, a winner over a mile and a half. 

Kirk was back in action shortly after when going to €120,000 ($139,869) for wildcard entry Frere Tuck, the winner of an AQPS bumper at Argentan on debut for Philippe Chemin and Christophe Herpin. 

"He's only a baby of a horse, but he's shown potential," said Kirk. "The man that trained him likes him, and he knows what good horses are. He'll be a long-term project for us, and hopefully he'll make a nice jumping horse."

The 3-year-old is a son of Secret Singer, who stands at Haras de la Courlais and is best known as the sire of talents such as Volnay De Thaix and Black River. 

With the National Hunt sales season in full swing, Kirk also commented on the state of trade across Europe this summer, saying: "It's getting harder because there's more and more people buying jumps horses in France, and the store trade is very strong, too. 

"The National Hunt scene is very positive at the minute from foals right through to form horses. Though what'll happen this time next year with Brexit, I don't know."

Few, if any, trainers have done as well with their Summer Sale acquisitions as David O'Meara, and the North Yorkshire handler and his assistant, Jason Kelly, headed to Deauville on Wednesday to sign for five lots at a total spend of €304,000 ($354,336). 

The team's most expensive purchase was Markazi, a seven-time winner who fetched a winning bid of €140,000 ($163,254). The 4-year-old son of Dark Angel, offered by the Aga Khan Studs, has won his last two starts for Rouget. 

"He's a lovely horse and has some high-class form, including when winning well last time out in blinkers. Hopefully he can be a heritage handicap horse back in England," said Kelly. "He's been bought for Thoroughbred British Racing, who own So Beloved—he's been in fantastic form this year, so hopefully this horse can do something similar."

O'Meara has enjoyed some notable success with graduates of the Summer Sale, namely dual grade 1 winner Mondialiste and Lord Glitters, who was last seen finishing a close second in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1). 

"It always helps when you've bought a few good horses from a sale, so coming here is an easy sell for us," said Kelly. "The results are happening on the track, though, and that's what matters."

Kelly, who along with O'Meara spent much of the session poring over the French form book at the back of the auditorium, added that while homework played a big part in their preparation for the sale, the opportunity to inspect potential purchases in the flesh was key to their success. 

"(French form) is something that we get a bit of time to analyse during the week of Royal Ascot. We watch all the replays and do as much work as we can, but there's also an element of coming here and seeing the horses. We loved all the physicals of the horses we've bought today," he said. 

The expanded catalog at the two-day auction saw turnover register a 4% year-on-year increase to €7,464,700 ($8,772,316). The average price took a slight drop to €26,850 ($30,998) from €27,895 ($32,514), while the median dipped from €16,000 ($18,649) to €12,500 ($13,993). 

In total, 283 of the 380 offered lots sold for a clearance rate of 74.5%, down slightly from 75%12 months ago. 

The sole six-figure lot from the filly and broodmare section of the sale came when Gonzeville—a Le Havre half sister to Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (G1) heroine Teppal—appeared on the market Wednesday.

A host of interested parties drove the mare's price beyond €100,000, but when Crispin de Moubray, seated at the back bench in the auditorium, signaled €150,000 ($174,915) the opposition cried enough.

"I bought the mother in Newmarket for €17,000 for a friend of mine, so we bred all the horses under the first dam," De Moubray said. "Teppal was my mating. I chose the stallion because the mare is very big, but Camacho is a smaller model of horse.

"Also Teppal is inbred three times to Mixed Marriage. Don't ask me why it works, but whenever I do it, it always seem to work well. You find Mixed Marriage in Sharpen Up, Gone West, and Warning, so you've got to try and mix those bloodlines.

"I've done the same thing again for another client this year. When I find a cross that works, I try and carry on doing it, and when I find a family I get on well with, I like going back into the same family and keep going. If you look after a family, the family will look after you."

Gonzeville, who was offered by Haras de Montfort & Preaux, was bought by Elisabeth Vidal for €16,000 ($17,069) at the 2016 Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, around five months before Teppal appeared at the Deauville breeze-up sale.

She produced a filly by Rajsaman in January and was offered in foal to Montfort & Preaux's new recruit Recorder.

De Moubray has enjoyed some notable success with his broodmare purchases at Arqana, having sourced the dams of Lope De Vega and Sunday's Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1) winner Waldgeist from the Deauville ring.