German gems on offer at Arqana as Gestüt Fährhof cuts back its herd

Gestüt Fährhof is sending 19 mares to the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale in Deauville this weekend as it cuts back its herd in an effort to recapture a golden era during which it bred and raced superstars such as Acatenango, Lomitas and Surumu.

The move also entails the stud shifting its focus away from standing stallions and pruning families that have multiplied to the point that they are disproportionately represented in the broodmare band.

View the Arqana December Breeding-Stock Sale catalogue

“Fährhof was the prominent stallion station in Germany for the past 40 years,” says the stud's president Andreas Jacobs. “But, with the industry melting away here, we downsized our stallion station and subsequently are reducing and refocusing our broodmare band.

“In the 1980s we were focused on our broodmares, and on creating the best matings for our mares and, as owner-breeders, we ended up with great stallions like Surumu, Acatenango and Lomitas.

“We decided it's time to get back to that recipe: fostering our quality mares rather than filling our stallions.”

Among the mares that Fährhof has deemed surplus to its own requirements but could very well become a vital cog in another breeder's broodmare band are two daughters of the stud's great flagbearer Lomitas, whose stranger than fiction life – a ban from racing due to a violently expressed stalls aversion; his salvation by horse whisperer Monty Roberts and subsequent three Group 1 wins; and a blackmail plot that meant he had to be whisked out of Germany – is being made into a film.

They are Hasay (lot 166), a 12-year-old who is out of a Listed winner, was a Listed winner herself, and has produced the Group 3 scorer Hargeisa; and Quilita (516), a Group 3-placed relation to Fährhof's multiple Group 1 hero Quijano.

The ten-year-old is in foal to Charm Spirit and, eye-catchingly, has a yearling colt by Kingman and a filly foal by Exceed And Excel to bat for her in the coming years.

Quilita is preceded into the ring by close relation Quiana (515), a winning ten-year-old half-sister to Quijano who has produced three winners from as many runners and is in foal to Almanzor.

Another lot with close connections to celebrities who carried Fährhof's famous black and yellow silks is Solola (91), a 14-year-old Black Sam Bellamy half-sister to Sabiango and Silvano who has produced the Horris Hill Stakes winner Smaih. She is offered in foal to Harry Angel.

Somantra (253), Solola's three-year-old daughter by Oasis Dream in training with Peter Schiergen, is also available to purchase.

Meanwhile, the achievements of the dam and siblings of Palena (214), a seven-year-old daughter of Tiger Hill in foal to Belardo, take up all of the catalogue page; they include the Criterium de Saint-Cloud victory by half-sister Paita and a Premio Roma score for 'nephew' Potemkin.

The next lot in the ring, the three-year-old Australia filly Panguna (215), is a closely related half-sister to Potemkin offered out of training.

“We're offering mares and fillies from families which we have an abundance of, and there are several pearls among them,” says Jacobs. “We're also offering a few commercial mares which we bought for our stallions.”

The Arqana December Breeding-Stock Sale takes place over four days from Saturday with sessions starting at 11am local time (10am GMT) except Sunday when the action kicks off at 10am.

ARQANA BREEDING STOCK SALE FACT-FILE

Where Arqana sales complex, Deauville, France

When Four-day sale starts on Saturday, with sessions beginning at 11am local time (10am GMT), except Sunday (10am start)

Last year's stats From 901 offered lots, 683 sold (76 per cent) for turnover of €33,276,500 (up six per cent), an average of €48,720 (up seven per cent) and a median of €18,000 (down five per cent)

Notable graduates A Raving Beauty (sold by Ecurie des Monceaux in 2017, bought by Mandore International for €225,000); Brametot (sold by Haras du Logis in 2014, bought by Sylvain Vidal for €260,000); Different League (sold by Haras d'Haspel in 2015, bought by Emerald Bloodstock for €8,000); Fleeting (sold by Haras d'Ombreville in 2016, bought by HSV Agency for €50,000)

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