Arqana

There was so much focus on The Queen's Reach For the Moon (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in the build-up to Thursday's G3 Hampton Court S., it had almost assumed the air of a foregone conclusion but in the final analysis the Royal runner was second-best to the G3 Craven S. runner-up Claymore (Fr) (New Bay {GB}). With Frankie's day about to get even worse, Adam Kirby set off in front on Mary Slack's 7-1 second favourite and refused to let the Gosden runner past when it came down to...

The subject of a momentous gamble in Wednesday's Listed Windsor Castle S., Ballydoyle's Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never--Adventure Seeker {Fr}, by Bering {GB}) duly delivered to maintain the 100% record of the TDN Rising Stars in Royal Ascot's two-year-old contests. Hammered into 6-5 favouritism to get Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore off the mark for the week, the impressive Naas maiden winner raced near the pace far side before being sent forward with hands and heels passing halfway. In the end, the imposing bay had to fight to...

Wednesday's G2 Queen's Vase was staged over 14 furlongs, but it took a pixel study for the judge to call it as TDN Rising Star Eldar Eldarov (GB) inched out Zechariah (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}) to continue the fine week for Dubawi (Ire). KHK Racing's unbeaten colt had launched his season with a win over 10 furlongs on Newcastle's Tapeta May 24, but Roger Varian had plumped for this staying test of all the options here and ultimately was fully justified as the £480,000 Arqana Breeze Up graduate needed every yard...

The Arqana Summer Sale grew by nine lots, as more wild cards were added on Tuesday. One of the new lots, the Bated Breath (GB) horse Makaloun (Fr) (lot 236a), will be offered by The Aga Khan Studs. The dual Group 3 winner was also third in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Haras des Capucines will send Tosia (Ger) (Big Shuffle) (lot 295A) through the ring. She is already the dam of listed winner Think of Me (Ger) (So You Think {NZ}) and the 14-year-old is in foal to Zelzal...

Ecurie Griezmann's battle-hardened 3-year-old filly Txope (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}--Power of the Moon {Ire}, by Acclamation {GB}) had made seven consecutive starts in stakes company leading into Sunday's G2 Wempe 102nd German 1000 Guineas at Dusseldorf and emerged with a career high to add to a victory in last term's Listed Winterkonigin Trial at Cologne. The €310,000 Arqana September yearling went postward for this second start in Germany coming back off a fifth in Deauville's Apr. 7 G3 Prix Imprudence and a runner-up finish in ParisLongchamp's May 1 Listed Prix du...

The Arqana Series, a five-race series worth €1.2 million and reserved for colts and fillies offered by the sales company, was launched on Wednesday. The races will be held during the August Meeting at Deauville and the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend at ParisLongchamp, beginning in 2023. Criteria for the races are as follows: Three 2-year-old races will take place during an evening meeting on the Thursday before the August Yearling Sale at Deauville-La Touques Racecourse including two for unraced juveniles; A 2-year-old race on the Saturday of the Prix de...

Lael Stable's Purplepay (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) garnered a bumper pot when running away with the Haras de Bouquetot Criterium Arqana on ParisLongchamp's Arc Saturday card and closed last term under the stewardship of Cedric Rossi with a third in Saint-Cloud's Oct. 23 G1 Criterium International. Making her debut for new connections in last month's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas at The Curragh, having been knocked down for €2-million at last year's Arqana December sale, she finished sixth there and rebounded in style to salute in Sunday's G2 Prix de Sandringham going...

Careful readers of the Arqana website--or those caught booking a house too early in Deauville for the summer sales--will have noticed some significant changes in the French sales calendar this year. For the past several years, the two-day select, or Part I, yearlings in the August sale sold in the evening, then were followed by an all-day open session, and then the V2, a sale targeted to more regional buyers. In all, three different classes of yearlings were sold over four days. For 2022, the Arqana team has taken the...

The Arqana Summer Sale in Deauville, featuring 488 lots, will be held from June 30-July 1. Catalogued are 93 2-year-olds in pre-training, 143 2- and 3-year-old stores, 145 horses-in-training and 107 fillies and mares. Flat-bred 2-year-olds will canter at Deauville Racecourse at 1 p.m. local time on June 29. The next day, those Flat-bred 2-year-olds and stores will begin selling at 11 a.m. The breeding stock and horses-in-training session will begin at 11 a.m. on July 1. Previous sale alumni include the globetrotting Group 1 winner Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper),...

Gemini Stud's Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}--High Heel Sneakers {GB}, by Dansili {GB}) posted a career high in October's G3 Prix de Flore at Saint-Cloud and lined up for Tuesday's G3 Prix Corrida back over the same 10 1/2-furlong distance at the Paris venue returning off a second in April's Listed Prix Lord Seymour at ParisLongchamp. The 5-2 second favourite adopted her usual patient tactics and was positioned off the tempo in fifth for the most part. Nudged along to close with 500 metres remaining, she quickened in...

Arqana's Grand Steeple Sale at Saint-Cloud Racecourse grossed €2,313,000 with 29 lots sold from 35 (83%) through the ring. The Magdalen Bryant Dispersal accounted for €1,043,000 of that total, which consisted of the first 21 lots in the catalogue. The average was €79,759 and the median was €55,000. An even 10 lots made six figures or better, and it was the AQPS Just A Princess (Fr) (Ivanhowe {Ger}) (lot 5), a member of trainer David Cottin's consignment and part of that dispersal, that topped the sale. The sophomore was knocked...

Team Valor International and Marco Saviozzi's 3-year-old filly Nadette (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}--Ciboulette {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}) was two places behind subsequent G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Mangoustine (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) when fifth going one mile at ParisLongchamp in last month's G3 Prix de la Grotte and stepped forward to collect a career high in Thursday's Listed Prix Finlande upped to nine furlongs back at the Bois de Boulogne venue. The 32-5 chance, who also ran fifth in last term's G3 Prix des Reservoirs at Deauville, found a smooth...