As soon as the hammer fell on the final day of October’s Tattersalls Yearling Sale, October 17, attention quickly turned to Arqana and the wealth of prospects lined up for their October Yearling Sale from October 21 to 25.
The sale has become increasingly important thanks to star graduates such as four-time Group 1 heroes Paddington as well as this year’s Prix Jean Prat (G1) scorer Woodshauna and winner of the 2024 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (G1). Metropolitan .
Other frontrunners unearthed in the sale include this year’s Australian Cup (G1) scorer Light infantrymanwho finished a neck behind Inspiring in the Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) when trained by David Simcock, and another top Australian winner Country legendwho won the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) last year for Chris Waller.
Perennially leading consignor Ecurie des Monceaux will once again be strongly represented, with sire power and high-quality distaff lines the order of the day.
Henri Bozo, manager of Ecurie des Monceaux, said of the team: “We have some from established sires such as Siyouni, St Mark’s Basilica, Cracksman, Mehmas and New Bay, while there are also horses from emerging stallions such as Space Blues, who is off to an exciting start, and Baaeed.”
On the offer of Shadwell’s exciting young father, he added: “We have two from Baaeed and they should be a good promotion for the stallion, they are a colt and a filly and they are very nice.”
The colt of Darley’s promising young father Space blues (Lot 52) is out of the winning Shalaa mare Divertissement, herself a daughter of a Galileo sister of the Australian Group 1 heroine Magic Wand. It is the further family of Pacifique, Prudenzia and Platonic, as well as the recent Prix Marcel Boussac (G1) heroine Diamond necklace .
About the mating, Bozo says: “It is a family that has done well with Dubawi and that is why we sent her to the stallion, who has made a very good start.”
Other notables in the generally strong design include a It’s not you filly out of a Galileo daughter of Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (G1) winner Beauty Parlor (lot 26); a Siyouni foal from the family of American grade 1 winners Queen’s Trust and Domestic Spending (lot 39); A New Bay colt out of a winning daughter of Phoenix Stakes (G1) heroine Damson (Lot 81); and a Siyouni half-sister to Prix Jean Prat (G1) winner Intellogent (Lot 129).
Bozo is impressed by the quality of this year’s catalog and is confident that the auction will go from strength to strength in the coming years.
He said: “I was very impressed with the sire power and I think it is a sale that is showing great improvement every year. The August is a great sale and has a great record on the track, (but) it is limited in numbers as not all yearlings can go in August, while the October sale has a great opportunity to get more quality in all aspects. That is what it has done in recent years and I am keen to increase our draft numbers in the coming years.
An international flavor has been a key trend in European yearling sales in recent years, and Arqana is no exception. Bozo is confident that buyers from around the world will once again make their presence felt.
“We hope so,” he added. “I know Arqana is dynamic and does an excellent job of getting people to attend the sale. I am confident we will have a lot of international interest from all over the world, including England, Ireland, America and Germany.”
I would be remiss not to mention Monceaux’s undefeated Diamond Necklace, an exciting winner of the Prix Marcel Boussac at Arc Day earlier this month. The Basilica of San Marco filly – a top seller from last year’s sale in August for €1.7 million – is another star from the team’s brilliant producer Prudenzia.
The Dansili mare is responsible for two more top winners in Magic Wand and Chicquita, as well as group winner and Prix de Diane (G1) runner-up Philomene. Her yearling filly over Night of Thunder made headlines herself at this year’s August Sale when she sold it to Amo Racing for a record €3 million.
Bozo said of the Coolmore filly, now one of the favorites for next year’s classics: “You can imagine the excitement of the whole team at Arc Day, she was really impressive. We have a big part of the family and we are very proud and grateful to Prudenzia.”
Prudenzia is now 20, but this year she produced a colt by Siyouni and, according to the team that cares for her, is in top form.
“She has a beautiful colt by Siyouni, but she arrived too late, so she only got one mating and didn’t get pregnant,” Bozo said. “She is in great shape and we are thinking about breeding her again, although we have not yet decided with whom.”
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