By Emma Berry
The travelling sales community may feel a little discombobulated at being in Normandy in the springtime, but the familiar setting of Arqana'a Elie de Brignac complex should make them feel at home following the relocation of the breeze-up sale to Deauville from its regular Paris home of Saint-Cloud.
With Sunday's two French Classics switched to Deauville's La Touques Racecourse owing to the redevelopment of Longchamp, the natural move was to bring today's sale along with it, and it's a temporary change which has been welcomed by consignors.
Brendan Holland's Grove Stud has ruled the Arqana Breeze-up Sale of late, offering the top lots in the last two years and selling subsequent G1 Prix du Jockey-Club winner The Grey Gatsby (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) for €120,000 in 2013, and the leading consignor is delighted to be in Deauville.
He said, “Everyone acknowledged that the best thing to do was to follow the racing and it's an even bigger weekend this year with racing on Monday, too. Everyone is excited that it's happening at the same time and there's a great buzz about the place. As always, Arqana have done a great job and have been extremely pro-active, so we're really happy.”
As Holland's eyes drifted across to the smart bay filly being brought out of her stable, he added, “It's been a lucky sale for me, I've had a stakes horses here eight out of the last nine years so I am partial to this sale and we hope we've got an obvious one in the bunch this year. I was adamant all year that her and the Zoffany colt I sold at the Craven [for 320,000gns] were potentially the best two we had and I'm sticking to that.”
The horse in question is the sole filly by Frankel (GB) in the sale and, fortuitously, is bred on the same cross as the Juddmonte champion's first winner, Cunco (Ire), who obliged on debut at Newbury yesterday. Catalogued as lot 70, the Ben Sangster-bred filly is the second foal of the Danehill Dancer (Ire) mare Rose Bonheur (GB), a dual listed sprint winner in Ireland for Kevin Prendergast and Lucy Sangster.
No matter how long the sales season, one man who never runs out of enthusiasm and bonhomie is Con Marnane, who sold multiple group 1 winner Rio De La Plata (Rahy) as a breezer back in 2007 and is still bouncing at having been responsible for the Haras du Logis sire's first winner, Aiming For Rio (Fr), at Cagnes-sur-Mer earlier this week.
Marnane's Bansha House Stables consigns two colts by Rio De La Plata today, lots 87 and 109, as well as an eye-catching son of Choisir (Aus), the sole offering by the former Australian shuttler out of the listed-winning Sir Pekan mare Arikaria (Ire) (lot 121).
“He breezed really well and has been very popular,” said Marnane of the compact January-born Choisir colt.
Willie Browne is rarely off the leader board at breeze-up sales and he's been snapping at Brendan Holland's heels for the last two years at Arqana. He too has a Frankel to sell, a colt out of a full-sister to the top-class speedster Namid (GB) (Indian Ridge {GB}) (lot 55), as well as a strong colt by the ever-popular Invincible Spirit (Ire). The latter, lot 88, is a half-brother to six black-type horses, including G3 Chartwell Fillies' S. winner San Sicharia (Ire) (Daggers Drawn), and breezed well on the Deauville turf on Friday morning.
Browne commented, “We've a great bunch of horses here––I would say that, wouldn't I? The worrying part of it for us is what happens just below the top level as that's been a problem at the breeze-up sales so far, a weak middle market. But I'm really happy with my horses and we keep hearing that there are plenty of international buyers coming for this sale so let's hope that's right.”
Browne's Mocklershill draft contains 15 2-year-olds, including a Galileo first foal of the hardy and classy racemare Banimpire (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) (lot 124), and the only Lemon Drop Kid juvenile in the sale (lot 78), another first foal and a son of the listed winner She Be Classy (Toccet) who was a $70,000 Keeneland January yearling.
Lemon Drop Kid has enjoyed a successful spell in Europe recently courtesy of G3 Huxley S. winner Cannock Chase and good Chester handicap winner Red Verdon. Both colts were bought by Charlie Gordon-Watson, so it was no surprise to find the agent having a close look at the Mocklershill offering along with Red Verdon's trainer Ed Dunlop.
Four supplementary entries have been added to the catalogue––colts by Helmet (Aus), Dark Angel (Ire), Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Lawman (Fr)––who feature as lots 136 to 139. Taking into account withdrawals at the time of writing, 118 juveniles are set to go under the hammer today from 2pm local time.
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