Arqana August a Sale On the Rise

The European yearling sale season kicks off Aug. 15 to 17 with the Arqana August Yearling Sale in Deauville, France. The three-day stand, which sees 374 youngsters go through the ring, includes evening sessions following racing in Deauville on Saturday and Sunday, and a daytime session Monday. The separate v.2 catalogue, which focuses on horses with more modest pedigrees and precocious profiles, follows Aug. 18.

The global yearling sale market has been in a state of steady upswing the past few years, and Arqana’s results certainly mirror that trend. Last year’s average of €147,864 and median of €90,000 from 261-head sold both marked new records for the sale, and the gross of €38,592,500 was the third-highest ever, and highest since the catalogue was cut by about 100 horses in 2013. The sale’s average has risen each year since 2010, and the median has climbed each of the last four years.

“It is a sale that progresses every year,” said Arqana President Eric Hoyeau. He also noted that a few newcomers to the yearling sale scene will no doubt add intrigue to the catalogue.

“We have the first crop of not only Frankel, but a very good group of first-crop sires including Redoute’s Choice,” Hoyeau added. “He is a special case, because it will be his first Northern Hemisphere-sired crop.”

Arqana owns the distinction of being the first auction house to offer yearlings by unbeaten champion Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), and the company has maximized the Juddmonte resident’s marketability by producing a microsite devoted to the six offerings by the dual Cartier Horse of the Year (click here). To summarize, Ecurie des Monceaux will offer four: lot 41, a colt out of G2 Sun Chariot S. winner Danceabout (GB) (Shareef Dancer) who is a half to stakes winner Rainbow Dancing (GB) (Rainbow Quest) and stakes-placed Handsome Man (Ire) (Nayef); lot 117, a colt out of multiple Group 3 winner Noelani (Ire) (Indian Ridge {GB}), a full-sister to champion sprinter Namid (GB); lot 125, a colt from the immediate family of G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Sagamix (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}) and additional Group 1 winners Sagacity (Fr) (Highest Honor {Fr}), Sageburg (Ire) (Johannesburg) and Sagawara (GB) (Shamardal); and lot 127, a filly out of Platonic (GB) (Zafonic), a half-sister to two stakes winners including the dam of G1 Irish Oaks scorer Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}). Haras des Capucines will offer lot 159, a Frankel half-sister to six-time Group/Grade 1 winner Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}); and Haras du Mezeray sends out lot 165, a Frankel half-brother to Group 1 winner Naaqoos (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Group 3 winner Barastraight (GB) (Barathea {Ire}).

The quality hardly ends with the Frankels, however. Another standout on paper is lot 176, Haras du Quesnay’s full-sister to dual Arc winner Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}). Frankel’s sire, Galileo, has nine catalogued, including lot 7, who should make early waves as the half-sister to dual Grade I winner Zagora (Fr) (Green Tune). Galileo is also represented by lot 54, a daughter of G1 German Oaks scorer Enora (Ger) (Noverre); lot 59, the first foal out of the talented Fire Lily (GB) (Dansili {GB}); lot 142, a daughter of GI Beverly D. S. winner Royal Highness (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) and therefore a half-sister to Group 2 winner Free Port Lux (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Darley’s leading sire Dubawi (Ire) (Dubai Millennium {GB}) will be a hot commodity with just two catalogued, including lot 119, the first foal out of Group 3 winner Pacifique (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), a half-sister to the dam of Chicquita. Lot 175 is an Invincible Spirit (Ire) half-brother to Group 1 winners Most Improved (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) and Ectot (GB) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), and Invincible Spirit is also represented by lot 143, a half-brother to dual French Group 1-winning juvenile Dabirsim (Fr) (Hat Trick {Jpn}). Lot 163 is an offering by an exciting young sire in Canford Cliffs (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}), and he is a half-brother to G1 Criterium International winner French Fifteen (Fr) (Turtle Bowl {Ire}).

Hoyeau said France’s strong purses and breeders’ awards have helped contribute to a stronger breeding program in the country, and therefore better yearling catalogues. Maiden and conditions races for 2- and 3-year-olds in France range in purse from a minimum €14,000 up to €57,000, and listed races for those generations range between €52,000 and €55,000. Handicaps start at €16,000 and go up to €70,000. In addition, breeders receive 64% of purses earned by 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds, and 43% of purses for 5-year-olds and up. All this has likely caused an influx of quality breeding stock in France.

“Breeding and racing in France has improved a lot during the last three years, with more mares in France now than before,” Hoyeau noted. “That’s probably helped us get a better and better catalogue every year.”

Despite the growth of the industry, Hoyeau said there has been no temptation to increase the size of Arqana’s flagship sale.

“The idea is to keep it select,” he explained. “It’s quite an early sale in the yearling program in Europe, so we really need to have mature yearlings. Arqana has two main yearling sales: the more international one is in August, and the second one, which is also successful, is in October. With this program it is a good opportunity to collect the mature individuals in August, and we can offer very good exposure to international buyers.”

Arqana’s buying bench has grown to include a truly international cast, with bidders from as far afield as Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa last year securing horses alongside the more traditional crowds from Europe and America. American agent Justin Casse made his first visit to the August sale last year after attending Arqana’s December sale on several occasions, and he purchased a filly by Dansili (GB) for €220,000, and a filly by Kendargent (Fr), a full-sister to G3 Prix du Bois scorer Goken (Fr), for €200,000. Casse pinhooked the latter for $310,000 at OBS March.

“One thing I found about Arqana was there was very good value there, and I expect there will be greater value this year with the change in currency rates,” Casse said. “There has been a fair amount of interest from Americans in European pedigrees as of late, especially female families that could cross nicely in the States at the end of their careers.”

Casse admitted, however, that his initial experiment told him there are still some hurdles to overcome with bringing young European stock to American sales.

“The problem with pinhooking those horses on to American soil is that the American buyer as a whole is not familiar enough with even the good European sires,” he explained. “Unless you bring a Galileo, Dubawi or Frankel to the States, most potential buyers are going to be looking at the sire’s statistics for some background. In that regard, I believe I overestimated the open-mindedness of the majority of the American buyers, but not all.”

British-based vendor Ted Voute has been a regular supporter of Arqana’s August sale as both a buyer and a seller, and he praised the efforts of Arqana’s team in producing top-quality catalogues.

“Arqana does a great job; they’re pretty strict on their selection process,” Voute said. “They’re very progressive.”

A recent move by Arqana has proven the company to be progressive beyond the realm of its traditional sales. Last week Arqana unveiled Europe’s first online auction platform, Arqana Online. The service will facilitate the sale of individual horses at any given time, and therefore a vendor can capitalize at the exact time a product is in demand, rather than waiting for the next sale on the calendar. Arqana Online will also offer buyers a straightforward and securing bidding portal, as well as a wealth of information about the horse for sale.

Hoyeau noted the idea for Arqana Online was inspired by the success of the company’s wild card system, which offers a select number of late editions to specific sales for quality offerings.

“Historically, we’ve had very good success in our horses and training sales–and sometimes breeding stock sales–with our wild card system, which are high-profile lots entered last-minute,” Hoyeau explained. “That works particularly well with the Arc sale, but also with fillies in our breeding stock sales. We think it’s now time to innovate in a new platform.”

Arqana Online will offer the same guarantees as the company’s ‘physical’ sales, and Hoyeau explained that Arqana did plenty of market research before diving into the idea.

“We discussed the matter with some vendors and buyers and tried to create the best solution possible,” he said. “That’s why we decided to have a system with one horse, and one sale.”

Arqana Online is likely to stage its first sale within the next month. The immediate task at hand, however, is the August sale, and Hoyeau said that while being the first yearling sale of the European season means Arqana has little evidence by which to predict results, he expressed confidence in the format that has produced record figures the last two years.

“Arqana August has proven to be a very consistent sale,” he noted. “The format is exactly the same as last year and the previous year: two evenings following racing in Deauville and an additional day Monday plus the v.2 sale. This format fits well with the program in Deauville with the racing, so we didn’t change anything because it was a big success the last two years.”

“It will be the first yearling sale in Europe so it’s difficult to make predictions about the market, but the idea is to really try hard to consolidate the results of the previous year,” Hoyeau added. “It’s very difficult to predict anything, but we work hard to put together a high- quality catalogue and to promote the sale. It’s difficult to say how the market will be but the target every year is to consolidate the results of the previous year.”