Arqana Figures On Par At Opener

The opening session of Arqana's three-day Autumn Sale, which featured horses-in-training, was staged in Deauville on Monday. A total of 181 lots were sold for €5,327,500, which was up 7.7% from the same session last year, with 15 more horses sold this year. The buyback rate dropped three points to 16.2%, while the average and median were nearly identical to 12 months ago: the average of €29,434 was down 1.2%, while the median was up 3.7% to €14,000.

Hubert Barbe of Horse Racing Advisory signed for the session's two highest-priced lots, both on behalf of prominent jumps owner JP McManus. Lot 185, the winning 3-year-old gelding Dostal Phil (Fr) (Coastal Path), brought the top price of €295,000, while lot 230, another winning 3-year-old gelding named Charli Parcs (Fr) (Anabaa Blue {GB}), is also set to race in the McManus colours after being bought for €250,000 off a debut hurdling win Nov. 2.

“We were very impressed with him, the way he did it,” said McManus advisor Charlie Swan. “We thought we would have to pay that sort of money for him as these horses don't come along so often.”

While trade at the top end of the market was dominated by National Hunt action, one six-figure offering set for a future on the flat is the stakes-placed 3-year-old Carzoff (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}) (lot 143). He is headed to Australia after being purchased for €225,000 by Guy Mulcaster, the man who has picked up so many high-class European imports and who was also responsible for selecting Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) as a yearling. Racing for Ecurie Cerdeval and trainer Alain Couetil, Carzoff finished third in a 10-furlong listed race in July.

The first of two yearling sessions take place in Deauville on Tuesday, with a focus on National Hunt-bred stock. A flat-bred yearling session wraps up the sale on Wednesday.