Arqana

Just three days after he and partner Michael Tabor spent €3 million on Group I winning filly Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, owner Peter Brant got a most unwelcome surprise. Rougir's trainer, Cedric Rossi, was arrested Dec. 7 as part of a probe into equine doping that also involved two other members of the Rossi family, Frederic and Charley. That brought into question whether or not he and his partners had purchased a horse whose successes on the racetrack were, at least in part,...

Zied Romdhane has been appointed as Arqana's Representative in North Africa. Romdhane, who was born in Tunisia, got into racing through Purebred Arabians but has since expanded into Thoroughbreds and has grown a client based of Libyan, Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian, Saoudi and Egyptian clients. "I'm delighted to join the Arqana team, with whom I have worked for several years," said Romdhane. "My sales experience has given me a very good network in France as well as in North Africa and I'm very much looking forward to starting this new role."

Arqana has released the catalogue for its February Mixed Sale, which takes place on Feb. 15 and 16 and has 435 horses catalogued comprised of horses in training, fillies, broodmares, 2-year-olds, 3-year-old stores and yearlings, with five wildcards still to be announced. The Arqana February Sale, which previously sold the dam of last year's GI United Nations S. winner Tribhuvan (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}), this year includes a quality draft from Haras de Bouquetot including Balkis (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 154), a 6-year-old daughter of the dual Grade I winner Harmonious...

A 1/50th share in rising sire star Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) (lot 1) made €350,000 from Peter Brant's White Birch Farm to top the Arqana January Online Sale on Thursday. Already the sire of 18 first-crop winners, the son of Arc heroine Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar) also has a pair of Group 1-placed runners, with one of them, Purplepay (Fr) bringing €2,000,000 at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale. Paul Harley Bloodstock shelled out €25,000 for a breeding right in Group 1 sire Territories (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (lot 2) and...

A 1/50th share in young sire Zarak (Fr) will be offered as lot 1 in the upcoming Arqana Online January Sale. Slated for Jan. 13 from 3-5 p.m. French time, the sale also features a breeding right in Territories (Ire) (lot 2); a half-share (1/100th) in Al Wukair (Fr) (lot 3); the listed placed broodmare Becquascenthe (Fr) (Nombre Premier {GB}) (lot 4); and a trio of National Hunt horses-in-training. His Highness The Aga Khan's Zarak was the leading first-season sire in France in 2021, and among his 18 2-year-old winners...

While it was the multi-million Euro mares who stole the limelight at Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale two weeks ago, there were successes to be celebrated beneath those top prices. Among the most remarkable of those has to be Haras de l'Aumonerie's Starspangledbanner (Aus) colt (lot 145), who was bought by Yeomanstown Stud for €170,000. The colt, already named Captain Star (Fr), had plenty going for him on both sides of his pedigree, being by a popular sire and a brother to two stakes horses, including none other than this...

Three stallion shares and a breeding right were offered during Arqana's Online sale on Thursday, and it was a 1/50 share in France's soon-to-be-crowned champion first-season sire Zarak (Fr) that topped the sale on a bid of €380,000 from Martin Schwartz Racing. Schwartz is based in New York but has had plenty of success racing fillies purchased in France, including the likes of GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Zagora (Fr), the Classic-winning Stacelita (Fr), GI Garden City S. winner Alterite (Fr) and GI Spinster S. scorer Asi...

A trio of stallion shares and a breeding right in Group 1 sire Territories (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) will be offered during the Dec. 16 Arqana Online Sale. Sold as lot 4, the breeding right in the sire of G1 Prix de l'Opera winner and €3-million Arqana December topper Rougir (Fr) entitles the buyer to one covering per year. The Darley stallion stands for £10,000 at Dalham Hall Stud near Newmarket. Also selling are 1/50th shares in Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) (lot 1), who already has two Group 1-placed runners;...

The frenetic pace of the breeding stock sale season finally came to a halt on Tuesday, as, after four days of selling during Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale, the last horse passed through the ring at Deauville. Overall, the aggregate grew by 58.5% to €42,007,700, up from €25,253,500 during the first year of the Covid pandemic and the first time the sale breached the €40-million mark. There were 689 lots sold from 907 offered (76%), and 13 horses made at least €500,000, compared to six in 2020. The average of...

A colt foal by Fastnet Rock (Aus) (lot 675) starred at Deauville as trade wound down a notch during the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale on Monday. Consigned by Haras de Castillon, who had also offered eventual €2.5-million buy and Group 1 winner Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), the bay is out of the winning Purple Magic (GB) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}). He was purchased by Benoit Jeffroy on behalf of Manister House Stud for €60,000. Besides the top lot, race fillies and broodmares were the most sought after,...

DEAUVILLE, France--Culls from some of Europe's-and indeed, the world's-greatest breeders have played a sizable role in driving the market at this year's breeding stock sales. Over the past few weeks buyers have come out in force for the stock deemed excess to Juddmonte, Godolphin and Shadwell, but they had to wait until Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale for the offerings from Wertheimer et Frere, with that nursery selling exclusively in Deauville each December. It was a mare from that consignment that supplied the joint-highest price during Monday's second session of...

DEAUVILLE, France--When Arqana issued the news, on Oct. 11, that Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire})—the Group 1 winner raced by a partnership of Albert Frassetto, John d'Amato, and Mike Pietrangelo—would be offered at their upcoming December Breeding Stock sale, there was something curious about the story. Reading the alert from the TDN, Benoit Jeffroy and the team at Haras de Castillon immediately picked up on it: the story did not list a consignor. "Amelie [Lemercier] sent me a text, and she said, 'Did you see? She's going to Arqana,'"...