Deauvillle-based Markus Nigge, who trains in partnership with his daughter Stéphanie, had to stretch his budget to €40,000 to take home a good-bodied son of Orpen from Jean-Pierre & Guillaume Garcon's Haras de l'Hotellerie. The third foal out of a close relative to Group winners KANDIDATE and VALLEY QUEST was also coveted by Norwegian agent Börje Olsson but German-born Nigge placed the final bid and commented:
He is for my client Lutz Bongen. He is a very athletic, honest horse who looks like he will have some speed but stamina also runs in the family.
A Siyouini colt from Alain Régnier's Haras de la Haie Neuve got trade off to a good start on the final day of the October Yearling Sale when selling to Five Star Bloodstock for €43,000. His dam Zita Blues (Zieten) has produced 10 winners from 11 foals of racing age, and she hails from the extended family of WESTERNER and VOIX DU NORD.
He is a good strong colt who will come back here for the breeze ups, explained Willie Slattery after signing the docket.
Momentum carries on to day three
The market held on strongly on the third and penultimate session of the October Yearling Sale as 77% of the 154 youngsters on offer changed hands for a cumulated €2,880,000, just 3% down from the same session last year, at an average price of €24,202 (-5%). Demand proved very similar to the previous day, with a large cross-section of buyers from France as well as neighbouring countries, including several European trainers who regularly race in France.
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A filly from the first Northern Hemisphere crop of So You Think and offered by Haras des Sablonnets went the way of Paul Nataf, acting on behalf of Claudio Marzocco, for €68,000. The filly, who was bred by Louis Duquesne of Ecurie La Boétie, is out of the black type mare Seal Bay (Hernando), the dam of SCALAMBRA, winner of the Listed Copa de Oro in San Sebastian and 3rd in the Gr.2 Prix de Royallieu since the catalogue was printed. Trainer Eric Libaud was the underbidder.
She is a strong filly who should develop into a nice two-year-old. She will be trained by Criquette Head, indicated the agent.
Former leading Hong Kong-based ace Eric Saint-Martin, who started training in Chantilly last season, had to fight off a host of competitors to secure a colt by Soldier of Fortune from the draft of Elevage de Tourgeville. The bay is the fourth foal out of the winning Verglas mare Princess Love, and her first two have already gained some black type. Marc-Antoine Berghgracht, Francis-Henri Graffard and Guillermo Arrizkoreta all jumped in the fray but Saint-Martin was not to be denied and got the last word at €70,000.
I thought I had the budget to buy two yearlings but I was beaten several times. I'd rather focus on quality rather than quantity, so this one will probably end up being my sole purchase. I really fell in love with him, he is a very nice horse out of a mare who has done nothing wrong. He will carry the colours of Alaric de Murga, who has been a great supporter.
Owner Jean-Claude Seroul, Marseille-based trainer Frédéric Rossi and agent Alain Decrion were in the spotlight yesterday courtesy of the exciting juvenile TRIXIA, an €85,000 purchase at ARQANA last year, who extended her unbeaten record to four when posting a remarkably easy victory in the Gr.3 Prix des Réservoirs at Deauville. 24 hours later they were back in action together, this time across the road form the racecourse, and reinvested some of Trixia's earnings into a well-bred daughter of leading American sire Speightstown.
The first foal out of the Listed winner PRIDE DANCER was offered by Lucien Urano's Ecurie des Monceaux, who bought the dam in foal last winter, and commanded a final bid of €70,000.
She is quite small but with good scope, commented Decrion. She is very well-bred, by a proven sire out of a good racemare, so she has a lot of things going for her. We mostly look for horses who can make good two-year-olds.
Agent Marc-Antoine Berghgracht took the bidding up to €65,000 for a son of Motivator from Haras de l'Hotellerie (Jean-Pierre & Guillaume Garçon). The colt has an exotic page as his dam JADE (Combsway) was a Gr.1 winner in Peru.
Berghgracht commented on his purchase:
I really liked him, he is a beautiful colt and his dam was very talented. I have bought him for the usual team [Anthony Forde & partners]. He is slightly above the budget we had set for him, but we are delighted to take him home.
There was a real buzz around the Deauville sales ring throughout the second session of the October Yearling Sale, as reflected in the 84.8% clearance rate. This didn’t affect the average price, far from it as this indicator took a 14% hike to reach €32,693. The turnover also progressed 8% to a level of €3,284,000. The market saw some particularly strong business from French-based agents and trainers, but investors from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Mediterranean Countries also proved active.
A trio of yearlings commanded six-figure prices, a mark that was only reached once a year ago for the same session.
A filly from the draft of Haras du Quesnay, and by resident sire Motivator, commanded a final bid of €120,000 from Patricia Boutin's Suprina. She is out of the Gr.3 Prix Miesque DALNA, a daughter of Anabaa, which results in the same cross as dual Arc heroine TREVE.
She is for Edouard de Rothschild and will be trained in France, commented Boutin. I like Motivator, Anabaa as a broodmare sire as well as Nureyev further back, and Quesnay can breed good daughters of Motivator!
Anna Sundström's parents Jan and Maya bred Le Havre under their Team Hogdala banner, and the son of Noverre went on to win the Prix du Jockey Club before quickly asserting as a phenomenal sire in France. Wednesday night in Deauville, a new chapter of the family story was written as Anna's daughter, 14-year-old Moa, led around the ring a horse she bred in her own name, a son of the Haras de la Cauviniere resident who formed part of her mother's Coulonces Consignment. Out of the Gr.3 winner Camporese (Sadler's Wells), who has already produced a Stakes winner, the colt was knocked down for €72,000 to Sylvain Vidal, who manages Le Havre's stud career at his Haras de la Cauviniere.
He is a handsome colt and I think daughters of Le Havre cross well with Sadler's Wells, said Vidal. Obviously we are happy to buy from Coulonces as we have enjoyed such thrilling successes together. Let's hope the story continues with this horse!
Minutes later, another yearling by the same sire and from the same consignment commanded a final bid of €105,000 from Umm Qarn Farm's manager Alban de Mieulle. The filly is out of the winning Linamix mare Carmelixia, and de Mieulle commented:
I like the cross as Linamix is a great broodmare sire and this is a big, scopey filly who will make a nice breeding prospect. She will go into training with Freddy Head.
A neat son of Manduro from Anna & Etienne Drion's Coulonces Consignment triggered a protracted duel between trainer John Best and David Redvers, who was bidding over the phone to Arqana's Freddy Powell. It was the latter who got the last word at €140,000 for the first foal out of a full-sister to Australian Gr.2 winner PERMIT, and Redvers commented:
For me he was one of the best horses in the sale. He looks a very good middle-distance horse in the making. I was expecting to pay a fair bit for him as he is such a nice horse, but I had to stretch my budget a bit more! We haven't decided on his future yet.
Figures on day 1 of the October Yearling Sale almost held steady on the back of two consecutive record renewals. Turnover reached €8,394,000, down 3% from last year’s €8,676,000, which represented a 14% hike on 2013. The average price settled at €62,642, down 6%, while the clearance rate progressed from 72% to 76%.
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Francis-Henri Graffard, who already handles the Prix Juigné winner Vision des Aigles (Vision d'Etat), will take delivery of his half-sister by Siyouni, who was knocked down for €250,000 to Mandore International on behalf of Al Shaqab Racing. Their dam is a half-sister to the seven-time Group 1 winner CIRRUS DES AIGLES.
The half-brother is a very good horse and the dam is proving a great producer, stated Graffard. Obviously Siyouni needs no introduction and this filly is a beauty.
Deauville-based trainer Yann Barberot was the underbidder.
A stunning son of Oasis Dream out of the Peintre Celebre mare Soudanaise, herself a full-sister to the Gr.1 winner SUDAN, became the new highest-priced yearling of the day when commanding €290,000 from Ted Voute. The colt was bred by the Wildenstein's Dayton Investments and brought to the ring by Coulonces Consignment.
He was by far and away the best colt in the sale, commented Voute. He was beautifully prepared and comes from a great breeder, so he has a lot going for him. He is [like lot 27] for Prince Faisal bin Khaled, who has horses with Pascal Bary and John Gosden.
Four-time Prix du Jockey Club winner Jean-Louis Bouchard and his advisor Gérard Larrieu of Chantilly Bloodstock Agency were particularly busy during the first session, and they added this Siyouni filly from Haras de l'Hôtellerie to their shopping list for €150,000. From the Wildenstein family of PRAIRIE STAR and POUSSIN, the bay had a host of admirers including Rupert Pritchard-Gordon, Jean-Claude Rouget, Ghislain Bozo and David Redvers, but Larrieu was not to be denied and commented:
She is an absolute standout. We had to fight hard in the ring and I hope that we will beat them on the raceoucrse too!
Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International got the last word at €150,000 on this colt by Zoffany out of an unraced half-sister to the Group 1-placed BELIEVE ME, offered by La Motteraye Consignment.
I have bought him for Al Shaqab Racing, said the agent. Jean-Claude Rouget was very fond of him. He is a handsome colt who walks well, and Zoffany is the best source of black type juveniles. I wasn't expecting to pay so much for him si cher but it means that we weren't the only ones to be interested.
The only yearling by Shamardal in the catalogue attracted strong interest from around the ring and it was Anthony Stroud who prevailed with a bid of €250,000. Offered by Haras de Saint-Pair, the grey is out of the black type mare Fairly Grey, a full sister to Gr.1 Prix Ganay scorer FAIR MIX and who has already produced two Stakes winners.
He is by a very good stallion, out of a very good mare and comes from a very good farm so he has all credentials to be a very good racehorse, commented the agent.
The first foal out of the unraced mare Considerate (Dansili), from the Juddmonte family of DANCE ROUTINE and FLINTSHIRE went the way of Margaret O'Toole for €120,000.
We were very disappointed to be underbidder on the Holy Roman Emperor filly [lot 39], the agent said, so hopefully this one is lucky! She will be trained in Ireland.
The MAB Agency principal, who was standing alongside Tony Forde, was the successful bidder for the half-sister to TORUK, who ran 3rd in the Gr.2 Prix Eugene Adam this season and is from the family of KENTUCKY DYNAMITE.
I have bought her for Tony Forde and some new partners of his, the agent commented. We really fell in love with her, she is a very classy filly by a sire who does very well with his daughters, and she was bred at Ecurie des Monceaux. It is a tremendous nursery and we have already had success buying from them, notably with HARD DREAM who won the Prix Noailles. She will be trained in France.
Ted Voute went to €130,000 to secure this son of High Chaparral whose dam is a half-sister to the Gr.3 winner COURT CANIBAL. The colt was offered by Haras de la Reboursiere et de Montaigu.
He is for Prince Faisal bin Khaled, said Voute. He will now go to Malcolm Bastard to be pre-trained and then we'll decide. Prince Faisal has horses with Pascal Bary and John Gosden, and the ultimate plan is always for his horses to race in Saudi Arabia so they need to stay a mile.
John Oxx signed the docket at €110K for a daughter of Lawman from the family of HYDRO CALIDO, COUP DE FOLIE, MACHIAVELLIAN and of course URBAN SEA.
I have bought her on behalf of Sunderland Holding, the Tsui family's racing entity, commented the master of Currabeg Stables. She is a long term breeding prospect, by a good sire of fillies. I bought two yearlings here in August but this is my first ever visit to this sale
Ecurie des Monceaux consigned the daughter of Lawman, who was bred by Trevor Harris's Lordship Stud.
Nicolas de Watrigant was the successful bidder for this other member of Redoute' Choice's French crop, a half-sister to Gr.1 Poule d'Essai runner-up BAINE, who was offered by Haras de Saint-Pair.
For me she was the nicest filly in the sale, commented Nicolas de Watrigant. She has a beautiful page and looks a proper racehorse.
Lot 8, from the first French crop of Australian superstar Redoute's Choice, was the first to break the six-figure barrier when selling to Gérard Larrieu of Chantilly Bloodstock Agency for €100,000. The daughter of Gr.2 winner ALL IS VANITY will carry the colours of Classic-winning owner Jean-Louis Bouchard, who commented on his purchase:
She is a very well-bred filly, by a young mare who won the Prix de Sandringham, a race I particularly like and in which one of my horses [LA BERMA] ran second this year. I like to buy horses by proven sires, and Redoute's Choice is superb stallion. The 2-year-old half-sister was only beaten a head yesterday and she is by Monsun, so she must be very good to do that! She will go into training with Pascal Bary.
The filly was consigned by Alec Waugh's Jedburgh Stud.