THE Arqana sale ring was buzzing when it came to the appearance of the daughter of St Mark’s Basilica out of Prudenzia, consigned by Écurie des Monceaux. After a protracted bidding war, it was M.V. Magnier who had the final say for the blue-blooded filly, and from a family that he and the Coolmore partners know well.

A half-sister to Group 1 winners Chicquita and Magic Wand, she hails from the family of the very talented Emily Dickinson, Philomene, Pacifique and Vespertilio. “St Mark’s Basilica was an exceptional racehorse, and his win in the Irish Champion Stakes was exceptional,” said Magnier. “The cross with a mare like Prudenzia has a lot of potential, and we’re delighted.”

Two other lots sold for €1 million on the final day of the sale. One was a daughter of Lope De Vega who sold to bloodstock agent Oliver St Lawrence, bidding beside Carlos and Yann Lerner. Consigned by Ballylinch Stud, the daughter of their flagship sire is the third produce out of the Group 3 Park Express Stakes winner Normandal. The filly is a full-sister to a winner already.

“She’s a lovely filly that walks really well,” said the agent. “Yann and Carlos Lerner are going to train her and we’re very happy - they really wanted her in the yard. We are very happy and hope that she can line up in the Prix de Diane!” The filly’s dam is an own-sister to the dam of Pyledriver.

Thunder roars

A little later, the gavel fell once again at €1 million, this time for a daughter of Night Of Thunder out of the Group 3 winner Paix.

It was Al Shira’aa Racing’s Kieran Lalor who had the final say for the filly, and she is from the same wonderful family as the sale-topping lot, and again consigned by Écurie des Monceaux.

After signing the docket, Lalor said, “She’s a lot like Vespertilio, that we bought at Deauville two years ago from Écurie des Monceaux. They have a lot in common physically and they are both from this lovely Monceaux family. We are delighted, and cross our fingers that we will be just as lucky with this filly!”

With a timely update following Double Major’s win in the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay just a few hours before the sale, his half-sister, a daughter of Siyouni, was knocked down for €650,000. Bidding on behalf of The Thoroughbred Corporation, Jane Mangan had the final nod for the filly out of a half-sister to Group 1 winner Left Hand and current star Aventure. She was another consigned by Écurie des Monceaux.

“She comes from a great family,” said Mangan. “Ecurie des Monceaux has done great work with her. Prince Faisal Salman was here this week and really liked her; she has the profile that we are looking for and we’re very happy.”

Reaching for the Stars

FOLLOWING an afternoon of racing at Deauville, buyers returned to the sales ring for the second session of the August Yearling Sale. The evening was headed by a daughter of Sea The Stars consigned by Haras de Castillon.

The auctioneer’s gavel finally fell at €730,000 in favour of the American agents Alex Solis and Jason Litt for the filly, the first foal of an unraced half-sister to the champion and four-time Group 1 winner The Fugue. This is also the immediate family of Group 1 winners Summoner, Compton Admiral and Limato.

“Sea The Stars in an incredible stallion, and we’re delighted to have bought this filly,” said Litt. “We’re having dinner tonight to discuss the various possibilities for her future. As you know, it’s all about dreaming, and hopefully we’ll be there to see her win a big race in the next few years!”

Shortly afterwards, Écurie des Monceaux consigned a son of New Bay out of the listed-placed Showcasing mare Lady Light, and Chauvigny Global Equine’s Sébastien Desmontils secured him for €620,000. The well-bred colt is the second offspring of a full-sister to the Group 2 winning sprinter and now sire, Tasleet, and is from the immediate family of the talented siblings Battaash and The Antarctic.

“We saw the colt at the stud and liked him from the off, which was the case once more when we saw him at the sale. He has a stallion’s pedigree, and his sire is a stallion that we like a lot. He comes from a great family and we’re very happy,” Desmontils said.

Wootton Bassett makes first day impact

OPENING the yearling sales season in Europe, the August Sale began last Friday with 133 lots going under the hammer during the first session. During the day, seven yearlings were sold for €600,000 or more to seven different buyers, led by a brother to US Grade 3 winner Guildsman from Haras d’Etreham.

Bidding online, the American John Stewart, under the name of Resolute Bloodstock, made his first purchase in France when going to €1.4 million to secure the son of Wootton Bassett out of a placed half-sister to the three-time Group 1 winner, including the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby, Almanzor. This is the family of another recent classic winner in Darjina.

Night Of Thunder was responsible for three of the top seven lots at the sale, and the best-priced of his colts was a son of the stakes-placed Sea The Stars mare Enchanting Skies.

He is a half-brother to the Group 3 winner Beauvatier who more recently has placed in both the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat and Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown had the final say at €850,000.

The colt was part of the impressive draft from Écurie des Monceaux. “I think he was one of the best colts of the day,” said the agent. “He’s by a stallion that I like a lot. His dam has already produced good horses; Beauvatier is a lovely horse and his sister [2024 juvenile winner Lhakpa] also seems to have potential.

“There was a lot of interest in the colt, and we’re very happy to have got him. He’ll go to Malcolm Bastard in England initially, and then we’ll decide his next steps after that.”

Frankel filly

Earlier in the day, a daughter of Frankel out of the German Group 2 runner-up Waldjagd was knocked down for €800,000 to Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi.

The filly is a half-sister to two stakes winners, and is from an outstanding German classic family. She will go into training with her winning half-brother by Kingman, Awaking, who was bought at the sale two years ago.

Bloodstock agent Richard Knight, bidding on behalf of Salhia Stud, went to €780,000 for a daughter of Night Of Thunder consigned by David Cox’s Baroda Stud. The filly is a daughter of the listed-winning Zoffany mare Encapsulation, and is from a great Moyglare Stud family, that of Group 1 winners Designs On Rome and Romanised.

Consigned by Écurie des Monceaux, a daughter of Siyouni was sold at €700,000 to Jean-Pierre Dubois for the Dream With Me Stable. She is the first foal of a winning Frankel half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Lillie Langtry, the dam of three Group 1 winners in Minding, Tuesday and Empress Josephine.

Rashabar sibling

In the draft from Haras de Beaufay was a half-sister to Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner Rashabar, who two days later chased home Whistlejacket in the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville. Agent Oliver St Lawrence went to €600,000 for the daughter of Acclamation. Afterwards, he said: “She’s a stunning filly. She comes from a great family and we also really like Acclamation’s progeny. She’s been bought for Fawzi Nass and will maybe stay in training in France, but nothing has been decided as yet.”

Also selling for €600,000, Al Shira’aa Farms’ Kieran Lalor had the final say for a daughter of Wootton Bassett, the third offspring of the Group 1 Prix de Diane-French Oaks winner Channel. She was in the draft from La Motteraye Consignment.

“She’s a lovely filly that ticks all the right boxes,” Lalor said after signing the docket. “She is by Wootton Bassett, which we really like, and her dam is a classic winner by Nathaniel, a stallion that we also really appreciate. We’re very happy! She’ll first go to the stud in Ireland and we’ll decide her next step from there.”

Satisfactory outcome in the current climate

INSPECTIONS, top-class racing and sales over three days were the order of business in Deauville last weekend, as the latest edition of the Arqana August Yearling Sale concluded. As many expected, the latest iteration of the sale did not match last year’s record outcome, but the figures were close to those recorded in 2022.

As is the custom at Arqana, their president Olivier Delloye and managing director Freddy Powell issue a joint statement to the press. It read: “The August Yearling Sale welcomed a wide variety of buyers to Deauville, both regulars and newcomers. Japan and the United States were particularly active, together with Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

“The 2024 edition was just behind last year’s record-breaking sale, with sales once again topping the €50 million mark [including private sales], and the percentage of horses sold at 77%, which remains more than respectable for a select sale in the current economic climate. It should also be noted that the 11 top-priced horses were sold to 11 different buyers.

“These results would not have been possible without the confidence of our buyers and the work of our vendors, whom we would like to thank warmly, as well as our teams who work tirelessly to ensure the success of our sales.”

Leading vendor

The consignors of two out of the four yearlings who made €1 million or more, Écurie des Monceaux, managed by Henri Bozo, ended the sale as leading vendor with 31 yearlings sold for a total of €12,880,000.

Second place went to Haras des Capucines, with 34 lots sold for a total of €6,217,000, followed by Haras d’Etreham with 15 lots sold for a total of €4,965,000.

With 10 colts and fillies bought for a total of €3,135,000, Al Shaqab Racing was the leading buyer at the sale. M.V. Magnier bought five lots for a total of €2,910,000, followed by the American John Stewart (Resolute Bloodstock) signing for three yearlings at a cost of €2,170,000.