Everything’s Coming Up Coulonces

EVERYTHING’S COMING UP COULONCES 
By Sue Finley 
The 2013 Arqana August Yearling Sale marked a breakout year for the Coulonces Consignment, the commercial sales operation run by Anna and Etienne Drion. The couple sold the sales-topping yearling, a filly by Dubawi (Ire), to the Australian-based James Harron Bloodstock for €1.5 million. It was the first time they had topped a sale, and their first €1-million-plus sale. After years of hard work to build their business and their nearby farm, they suddenly found themselves a sought-after commodity. 
Last year, it seemed as if every time you turned around, a blue-and-tan clad Coulonces employee was leading another high-priced yearling out of the sales ring. In addition to the sales-topper, they included a Fastnet Rock (Aus) filly that went to SKAS for €350,000; a €310,000 Teofilo (Ire) filly, picked up by Kern Lillingston; and six others who sold in the six-figure range–that from a relatively small consignment. 
This year is a whole new ballgame. 
“Absolutely, it’s a big change,” said the 36-year-old Anna Drion, a Swedish native who relocated to France with her family in 2004. “ Last year we had 15 horses consigned for the weekend, during the select part of the sale. This year we have 31, and if you look in the catalogue, we’re the biggest consignor by numbers [during Saturday and Sunday], and we comprise 22% of the book for the weekend. It’s huge.” 
Anna’s parents, Jan and Maja Sundstrom, operate a breeding operation in Normandy, Haras de Coulonces, which produced the 2009 G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Le Havre (Ire), currently the leading sire in France and the third-leading second-crop sire in Europe and bred by Anna and her parents. Successful breeders in their native Sweden–first with trotters and then Thoroughbreds–they moved to Normandy to tackle new markets a decade ago. 
Anna married Etienne Drion in 2009 and they purchased their own property the following year–a converted sheep farm called Haras du Grand Chene, 10 minutes away from Coulonces and just over an hour south of Deauville in the town of Survie. Their goal was to run a more commercial operation. Etienne’s late father, Ghislain Drion, was the former manager of the Aga Khan’s Studs in Ireland, where the 41-year-old Etienne was raised. His brother, Francois, owns Taroka Stud in Ireland. His brother, Nicky, is the farm manager at Indian Creek Farm in Paris, Kentucky. 
“We bought the farm in 2010,” said Etienne. “It was a sheep farm. There were no stables and nothing for fencing. We built everything from scratch, which was good, because we could do it the way we wanted it. All of the money we make, we plow back into it.” 
The 65 hectares farm (160 acres) boasts 50 stalls, a walker, lungeing ring, and paddocks. They don’t do any breeze up or pre-training. 
Etienne grew up in Ireland, but worked in America for 7 1/2 years, including stints at Coolmore in Kentucky, for trainer Christophe Clement, at Vinery Florida, and for Emmanuel de Seroux. 
The couple now breed their own Thoroughbreds, but mainly prepare and manage Thoroughbreds for public auction. 
Their 2014 Arqana lineup is a mix of horses prepared at Haras du Grand Chene and others sent to them for the sale by international clients. In fact, their choice of the English word “Consignment” in their company name was a well-considered one. 
“We wanted to be international and we wanted to look further,” said Anna Drion. “There was nobody else here who had the name. As a consignor, you’re selling other people’s horses. The word consignor is a better word for people to know this is our job, this is our profession, this is our name. In the beginning, when we chose it, there were some negative reactions; you can’t be just a consignor in France. But that’s what we are. Haras du Grand Chene is separate; that’s the farm. If you’re a lawyer, you’re a lawyer, if you’re a doctor, you’re a doctor. We are a consignor.” 
For now, though, international flair or not, their consigning will happen in France. 
“England and America, those aren’t our markets,” said Anna. “I think it’s important to remember or to know your limits–what you can do and what you should do. There’s a market for everybody. This is our market. We’ve created a niche here. We have a lot of international clients and they can use us when they want to come here. Then we can be at our best. We have sold in Newmarket and at Osarus and topped the sale down there, and it was fantastic. But if we’re going to do what we’re doing, it’s not possible to leave to do something else. We’re very hands-on with the horses.” 
Their best should be on display next week. 
“We’re not just doing quantity; we’re doing quality,” stressed Anna of their 2014 consignment. “We’ve never had a draft like this. We’ve always had good horses, good conformation, but now all of a sudden we have pedigrees to follow. We still have the same clients we had before, and they also have better horses. It’s a nice step forward, to acquire new clients, and still to keep the people who have been supporting us from day one.” 
The couple, who have two daughters, Moa, 13; and Lillie, 3, said that the people offering them horses to sell this year is something of an affirmation. 
“In a way, as a consignor or breeder, to top the sale and sell a horse for over a million, it’s like winning a Group 1 race,” said Anna. “It lends a bit of respect, and let’s us feel that we’re doing the right thing. And it helps the whole the team to continue doing it; it’s not only me and Etienne, but all the people that are around us. It is a confirmation for everybody that it’s working. And obviously now people feel comfortable giving us better yearlings.” 
Those good yearlings are numerous in 2014, and start early on day one of the sale, Saturday, with hip 14. By Fastnet Rock, he is the first foal from his dam, Seschat (Ire). “He is an absolute amazing mover, and we think that this is probably the year for people to buy a Fastnet Rock. They’re going to be superstars here.” 
Hip 28 is a Dansili (GB) filly who is the first foal from Thai Haku (Ire), a multiple listed winner and multiple group placed in France. Hip 76 is a Dalakhani (Ire) filly out of the GI E.P. Taylor S. winner Choc Ice (Ire), a full-sister to the Group 3 winner Chock A Block (Ire), a half-sister to two additional listed winners, and whose fourth dam produced Shergar (Ire). “Sales-wise, I don’t know how many of this family have been sold,” said Anna. “It’s a pure Aga Khan family.” 
Hip 79 is a Dubawi (Ire) filly who is a half-sister to the Group 3 stakes winner Oh Goodness Me (GB), third in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas. Then there is Hip 150, a bay colt by High Chaparral (Ire) out of the Group 1-winning and multiple stakes producing Miss Tahiti (Ire). His half-sister Miss France (Ire) (Dansili) is fresh off a win in the G1 English 1000 Guineas, and he figures to light up the board. 
“He’s really mature for his age,” said Anna of the April 30 foal. “He is also extremely athletic, and he does match up his pedigree as well. He’s really with his class, and this is a nice pedigree to have on the market.” 
Hip 134 is a Champs Elysees (GB) filly out of Looby Loo (GB), a sister to the popular English stallion Dutch Art (GB). “She’s a very, very nice filly,” said Anna. “She’s got it all.” 
The Drions will take a trip down memory lane with hip 179. By Rock of Gibraltar (Ire), she is a half-sister to Avenir Certain (Fr) (Le Havre), sold by Coulonces in 2012 and who went on to win the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. “Avenir Certain has certainly shown she can compete in the Classic races, and this filly is a copy of her sister,” she said. “She’s a ball of muscle, just like her sister.” 
They will also sell one of their own, hip 65, by first-season sire Dream Ahead out of the unraced Blissful Beat (GB). His brother, Home of the Brave (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) broke his maiden second time out at Newmarket July 25, and has been entered in the Aug. 24 G1 Prix Morny at Deauville. 
“He’s so powerful,” said Anna of the yearling. “He’s a great character as well. He’s athletic and he’s fun. He’s just a great horse.” 
Their Arqana consignment will require their normal staff of eight at the farm to swell to 29 at the sale–almost one per horse. “We know we are going to be so busy,” said Anna, “and we could not do this without everybody else around us. Everybody who does support us–our parents, and a lot of people around us–our vets, clients, our staff, and our two head girls Charlotte and Annalise who are worth their weight in gold–make this possible for us.” 
“It’s a lot of work,” she said, “but this is the way we want it. Where we are in life at the moment is the way we want it to be. We are living in our paradise and in our dream. We work hard, but we want to. We chose this life. And it’s wonderful.”