Cormac O'Flynn

For the second consecutive year, a daughter of Sioux Nation had Roderic Kavanagh and Cormac O'Flynn of Glending Stables celebrating a seven-figure windfall at the Arqana Breeze-up Sale when lot 82 was knocked down to Anthony Stroud for €1,100,000. Twelve months ago, it was a similar story when Stroud struck the winning bid of €1,000,000 for a Sioux Nation filly from the Kildaragh Stud draft. Later named Zanthos, she returns to France this weekend as a leading contender for Sunday's Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in the Victorious Forever silks, having...

For a team which prides itself on never taking a backward step, Topgear is a suitably-named newcomer to the stallion roster at Capital Stud for 2026, with this latest offering being snapped up by breeders with such alacrity that the forward-thinking operation in County Kilkenny must be doing something right. Founded in 2020 by Ger O'Neill and Darragh McCarthy, Capital Stud describes itself as "a syndicate made up of prominent industry figures who have committed to supporting their stallions in the breeding shed and in the sales ring". "We'd like...

DEAUVILLE, France--The temperature is rising at Arqana and so, too, are the stakes. Breeze-up consignors young and old have made no secret about the fact that trade this year has been tricky, particularly at the middle to lower tiers.  All duck or no dinner, feast or famine--whatever way you want to describe it, vendors have had to negotiate some choppy waters, meaning a lot is still on the line at Arqana when the sale gets underway at 11am on Saturday. But, weirdly, the optimism is palpable. Maybe it's the baking...