by Emma Berry
In almost an action replay of last year's Arqana Breeze-up Sale, a late lot though the ring from Grove Stud ensured that the day's trade ended in explosive fashion when Nicolas de Watrigant was pushed to €600,000 for an Oasis Dream (GB) half-brother to G1 Coronation S. winner Maid's Causeway (Giant's Causeway) (lot 132).
From the black type-laden family of Vallee Enchantee (Fr) and Purple Moon (Ire), the colt, who won't reach his second birthday for another fortnight, was yet another Keeneland-sourced breezer to feature prominently in a European 2-year-old sale this season, having been bought by Brendan Holland in September for $150,000.
Blinking back tears, Holland, who also topped last year's sale and sold 2013 Classic-winning graduate The Grey Gatsby (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), said, “Hopefully he'll be what we all think he is. He's a special horse. He was a baby when I bought him at Keeneland but there was something about him. Obviously he has the pedigree but he also has the physical attributes and, above all, I believe he has heart. They are the horses who can get you to where you want to be. He's shown me every day that he's so tough.”
De Watrigant had to see off determined attempts for the colt from Jamie Lloyd and David Redvers but ultimately prevailed and ended the sale as leading purchaser by a country mile, with eight horses purchased on behalf of Al Shaqab Racing for €2,340,000.
He added, “He was the horse of the sale and the one we all waited for. It's a lot of money but he could be a stallion one day. The consignor thought he was his best horse, we expected him to breeze well and he did.”
Grove Stud was already on top of the vendors' board when, three lots earlier, de Watrigant signed for a Zoffany filly (lot 129) from the filly of champion 2-year-old and G1 1000 Guineas-placed Tiggy Wiggy (Ire), at €340,000. A daughter of the winning Candy Stripes (Arg) mare Sweet Kristeen, she too represented a huge hike from her yearling price of £36,000 at the DBS Premier Sale last August.
Significant jumps in all sectors bar the clearance rate, sealed a successful day for Arqana in Paris, with turnover rising by 21.5% to €8,150,500 and the average improving by 24% at €95,888. The median was also up to €60,000 from €55,000 in 2014, while the clearance rate fell slightly, to 71.5%, after 85 of the 119 juveniles offered found a buyer.
Arqana President Eric Hoyeau said of the day's trade, “It's a great result. The striking fact is the number of horses sold for six figures, which was 19 last year and is 31 this year. There's a good cross-section of vendors among the top prices and obviously we're delighted to see people who have had success with this sale in the past returning to buy here.”
Warm spring sunshine had filtered across Saint-Cloud racecourse from the early morning and it didn't take long for the sales ring to heat up when the second lot through the ring (lot 2) rocketed to €320,000 with the Coolmore team anxious to secure the first-crop son of their young sire Canford Cliffs (Ire).
Consigned by Mocklershill, the first foal of the winning Montjeu (Ire) mare Wondrous Light (Ire) hails from Kilfrush Stud's Mill Princess (Ire) (Mill Reef) dynasty which includes the former Aidan O'Brien trainee Ice Queen (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), the winner of the G3 Noblesse S. who was beaten a short head by Moonstone (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) in the G1 Irish Oaks.
Robert Nataf of Horse France did the bidding on Coolmore's behalf and said after signing the docket, “He's a magnificent model and the sire has made a good start. Looking to the future, the hope is that this colt could also make a stallion.”
Saint-Cloud has been the scene of successful shopping trips for Stephen Hillen in recent years and, working predominantly in partnership with trainer Kevin Ryan, the Northern Irish agent again signed for a number of the higher-priced lots and nine in total on the day. They included lot 37, a High Chaparral (Ire) grandson of the Watership Down Stud matriarch Crystal Music (Nureyev), who fetched €310,000.
Hillen said of his purchase, who is for The Grey Gatsby's (Ire) owner Frank Gillespie, “This horse galloped really well. He's bred to be more of a 3-year-old, who might race over a mile and a half so to have galloped as he did, he could be anything.”
Buying sons of High Chaparral at Tattersalls' December Yearling Sale has worked well for leading breeze-up consignor Jim McCartan in the past, with previous graduate, the Group-placed Moheet (Ire), having fetched 800,000gns at last year's Craven Breeze-up. It once again proved lucrative for the Gaybrook Lodge Stud maestro with this colt, who was a 50,000gns yearling.
Hillen added, “The consignor does an excellent job and he always brings his horses to the sale nice and relaxed. I saw this horse at the farm and he was one of the ones that I came here to try to buy. I hope he'll be as good as The Grey Gatsby.”
Hillen also bought a pair of breezers for owners Matt and Lauren Morgan, who have tasted big-race success both on the Flat and over jumps in England courtesy of G2 Gimcrack S. winner Blaine (GB) (Avonbridge {GB}) and recent Cheltenham Festival winner Call The Cops (Ire) (Presenting {GB}). Racing in their silks in the future will be lot 29, Mayfield Stables' filly by Raven's Pass out of a Peintre Celebre half-sister to Group 1 winners Fragrant Mix (Fr) and Alpine Rose (Fr) who was knocked down for €185,000. Joining her at Kevin Ryan's stable is lot 25, a Siyouni (Fr) colt named Briyouni (Fr), for whom the hammer fell at €175,000.
Hillen said, “Matt and Lauren are really nice owners. I bought Call The Cops and Blaine for them and I was only supposed to buy one for them here but they didn't want to miss out on the Raven's Pass filly, who showed real speed and is bred to go a mile-plus, so we're really delighted to get her.”
While Hillen has his Arqana Classic winner in the bag, one agent with big hopes for Sunday is Nicolas de Watrigant, who bought G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains runner Karar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) at this sale last year for €200,000. The Mandore International buyer will be hoping that lightning can strike twice after going to €300,000 on behalf of Al Shaqab Racing for lot 79, another colt by Invincible Spirit from Karar's vendor The Channel Consignment.
“It's a similar story to Karar,” said de Watrigant of the half-brother to listed winner Prince Fasliyev (GB) (Fasliyev). “This colt didn't breeze particularly fast and, like Karar, he had sore shins, but in the same way we will take our time with him, take him back to the farm and race him later on. He vetted well and he's a lovely colt.”
It was the start of a rampant spell for de Watrigant, who also signed for a colt (lot 98) and a filly (lot 32) by the Aga Khan Studs' boom sire Siyouni (Fr) at €300,000 and €260,000 respectively. The former, who turns two May 14, was said by the agent to have posted “an outstanding last 100 meters of his breeze,” and was another selection from The Channel Consignment. By sale's end, seven Siyouni 2-year-olds had passed through the ring for an average price of €145,714.
Yet another six-figure breezer on de Watrigant's list of purchases was lot 99, the sole juvenile in the sale by Australia's former champion sire and Horse of the Year Lonhro (Aus) (Octagonal {NZ}), who shuttled to Darley's Jonabell farm in Kentucky for several seasons and currently has his first northern hemisphere runners. Thus far, he has only been represented by one runner in Europe, but his British-trained filly, Rah Rah (GB), has worked wonders in advertising the merits of her sire, having won on the first day of the turf season and followed up that maiden success with a gutsy victory at Chester this week in the Lily Agnes Conditions S.
Along with a number of the Al Shaqab signings on the day, Karar's trainer Francis-Henri Graffard will take charge of the colt, who was pinhooked at Keeneland for just $17,000 by Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables. The consignor also worked his magic with G1 Gulfstream Park Turf H. winner Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro), a $10,000 yearling who was subsequently sold to Al Shaqab for €170,000 at the same sale in 2012.
Collins said, “I've a friend in Australia who raves about the sire and I think he was a little misunderstood in America but he's a serious stallion.”
Having shot up the Saint-Cloud turf like a rabbit during Friday's breeze session, the colt had gone into plenty of notebooks and de Watrigant ended up being pushed to €300,000 to secure a son of the A P Indy mare Pacific Indy.
“This is a lovely horse who has done everything right,” added Collins. “He was the one I couldn't wait to get home from America. I was really excited about him and I'm delighted he's sold so well. I just hope he's as lucky for them all as Mshawish has been.”
Breaking the Nicolas de Watrigant/Stephen Hillen stranglehold at the top of the buyers' list was Hubert Guy, who went to €200,000 to sign for one of two Giant's Causeway juveniles in the catalogue (lot 86). The colt is a grandson of the Niarchos family's dual Group 1 winner Chimes of Freedom (Private Account), who has proved just as adept as a broodmare by producing the top-flight scorers and stallions Aldebaran (Mr. Prospector) and Good Journey (Nureyev).
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.