Gosden team lands final blow over internet with €320,000 New Bay filly at Arqana

Gestut Ammerland’s New Bay filly from the family of German Derby heroine Borgia and Prix Vermeille winner Baltic Baroness topped the third and final day of the main section at Arqana’s flagship August Yearling Sale when realising €320,000 to John and Thady Gosden online.

From an excellent German family, the filly quickly became the subject of enthusiastic and prolonged bidding, which steadied up around the €300,000 mark before the father and son training duo proved too strong with a €20,000 push.

The daughter of Ballylinch Stud’s second-season sire has plenty of depth on her page, most notably being a granddaughter of the globetrotting Borgia, who won the Hong Kong Vase as well as two Group 1s in her native Germany.

The late and influential Borgia was also responsible for Born Wild, an unraced daughter of Sadler’s Wells and the dam of six black-type performers from seven runners including top-level victress Baltic Baroness.

Under the third dam is the German St Leger winner Britannia, Coronation Cup and German Derby victor Boreal, Irish 2,000 Guineas third Blue De Vega and last season’s Prix Lydia Tesio scorer Angel Power.

Thady Gosden said: “She was a very nice filly from a great farm with an excellent pedigree, and she’s been bought for a client of ours.”

Hoyeau in dramatic late bid

There was late drama as the penultimate lot to enter the ring, a Caravaggio half-sister to Listed winner Yuman, fetched the second-highest price of the day when selling to Arthur Hoyeau for €270,000.

The final foal out of the winning Diktat mare Dianaba, the Haras des Granges-consigned grey was a notable result for her burgeoning first-season sire, who is responsible for 15 individual winners and three stakes performers to date.

Hoyeau said: “She was our pick of the fillies today, out of a mare who has produced well, and she looks like she’ll be quite precocious. She’ll go into training with Christophe Ferland for a partnership.”

Further back in the attractive filly’s page is Alterite, the winner of the Grade 1 Garden City Stakes for Chad Brown and herself a graduate of Arqana when selling to Narvick International for €1.1 million at the Arqana December Mare and Foal Sale in 2014.

Donohoe strikes winning online bid

BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe described JK Thoroughbreds’ Wootton Bassett colt out of a half-sister to the stakes-winning Exoteric as ‘an absolutely gorgeous individual’ when picking him up for €210,000.

Donohoe, who secured five lots across the three days of trade, said the colt would be broken in and pre-trained in Ireland before a racing career in France.

He said: “He’s been bought for an existing client and will more than likely go to France for the premiums. I liked everything about him, he’s an absolutely gorgeous individual and has a super temperament.

“His sire doesn’t need much introduction, he’s the whole package and I thought he was one of the best colts selling today.”

A colt by Wootton Bassett consigned by JK Thoroughbreds set the early pace on day three of the Arqana August Yearling sale when making €210,000Credit: Zuzanna LUPA

The second foal out of the winning Champs Elysees mare Fray, a daughter of Radley Stakes winner and Fred Darling Stakes third Short Dance, the colt was the first to exceed the €200,000 mark yesterday.

Fray, in turn, was bred by Juddmonte and subsequently sold to Jim Goldie for 55,000gns at the 2014 Tattersalls December Mare Sale. Her first foal, the three-year-old Wootton Bassett gelding Odsonne, has placed twice for Francois Monfort this summer.

Allaire continues thoroughbred interest

Buyers’ enthusiasm for Siyouni continued to be a theme on day three as Deauville-based trainer Yann Barberot went to €195,000 for Ecurie des Monceaux’s Siyouni colt out of a half-sister to Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner and sire Persian King.

Another attractive lot by the Aga Khan’s in-form sire, the colt boasts an outstanding Wildenstein family pedigree further down the page with Prix Ganay scorer Planteur under the third dam and the likes of Policy Maker, Pushkin and Peintre Celebre under the fourth and fifth dams.

Barberot stood alongside Philippe Allaire, a man forever associated with champion trotter Ready Cash but who continues to increase his thoroughbred interests.

“He’s a good-looking colt and Siyouni is as close to a surefire guarantee as you can get,” said Barberot. “We were looking for a colt with quality and he has that.

“Philippe Allaire might be associated with speed and precocity [with his trotters] but that is not necessarily what we were after. Obviously you prefer horses to have some speed, but it is quality and a good pedigree that really counts.

“He has a wonderful second dam who produced a phenomenon [Persian King].”

‘He has a lot of Siyouni about him’

Haras d’Etreham enjoyed a stellar result with Sunday’s sale-topping €2.4 million Dubawi filly and the leading consignor’s Siyouni colt out of the Listed-winning Sea The Stars mare Lily Passion was another fine result when selling to agent Ghislain Bozo and longtime ally Pia Brandt for €190,000.

The winning bid was struck from the restaurant and Brandt confirmed that the colt would carry the colours of dining companion Finn Blichfeldt, an owner who has already tasted success in France with horses originally trained in his native Sweden.

Brandt said: “He’s a horse we liked a lot and he has a lot of Siyouni about him. He’s the first we’ve bought for the owner at this sale.”

The colt’s dam is out of Alix Road, a winning daughter of Linamix who finished third in the Prix Saint-Alary and second in the Prix du Conseil de Paris, while she is also a half-sister to Prix Greffulhe victor Sumbal.

The page was the subject of a recent update courtesy of Lilac Road’s breakthrough Listed success in last week’s Upavon Stakes. Jon and Julia Aisbitt’s homebred daughter of Mastercraftsman is out of Lily Passion’s Shamardal half-sister Lavender Lane.

Further back in the pedigree are the likes of Prix de la Nonette scorer Viane Rose and Prix de Guiche runner-up Fils De Viane.

McStay hoping for further luck from Night

Mark McStay had been awaiting the turn of Haras de Castillon’s Night Of Thunder colt into the sales ring and the agent won the bidding war when going to €185,000 for the colt out of a winning daughter of 1996 Oaks heroine Lady Carla.

Although a trainer has yet to be decided on, McStay said the colt had been bought for KK Ho, whose white and red silks have been carried to notable success by the likes of Hong Kong Champions Mile winner Southern Legend and Everest scorer Classique Legend.

McStay said: “He’s been bought for an existing owner, Mr Ho, who has horses in Europe and also Everest winner Classique Legend and Southern Legend in Hong Kong.

“He hasn’t decided on a trainer yet but we’ve had a lot of luck with Night Of Thunder, he’s had Storm Legend in Ireland who’s now gone to Caspar Fownes in Hong Kong, so this horse looks like a readymade replacement.

The Night Of Thunder colt takes in his surroundings at ArqanaCredit: Zuzanna LUPA

“We saw the horse early on Saturday, he was well presented from Haras de Castillon and he was my pick of the day and one of my picks physically at the sale. We’re really happy to get him, I think the sire is really good and hopefully this horse will be very lucky for his new owner.”

The colt is out of the dual winner Precious Dream, a daughter of Mr Greeley and a full- or half-sibling to two stakes performers in the Group-placed High Ruler and Avalon plus Vas Y Carla, the dam of the dual stakes-winning Avenue Gabriel. Further back in the page is Australian Oaks heroine Gust Of Wind and the multiple Group-placed Odeon.

‘Her pedigree guarantees her residual value’

Sebastien Desmontils of Chauvigny Global Equine made it count when signing the winning docket for Haras d’Etreham’s beautifully bred Wootton Bassett filly for €160,000

Out of an unraced Teofilo half-sister to Prix Maurice de Nieuil winner Terrubi and Prix Corrida victress Armande, the trio are in turn out of Altruiste, a Diesis half-sister to the mighty Urban Sea and the Classic-winning King’s Best.

“She has a standout pedigree and was conceived when the sire was standing for €40,000,” said Desmontils. “Now we need to try to further improve her profile as a broodmare through her racing career, as her pedigree already guarantees her a certain residual value.

“She conducted herself very well and has an excellent veterinary record. She will go into training with Edouard Montfort for a partnership with Ecurie Tygaly.”

Marc de Chambure made surely the most important purchase in the history of Etreham when joining forces with Lady O’Reilly and Maurice Lagasse to acquire this filly’s fourth dam Allegretta at Keeneland in 1984 for $55,000, a deal that continues to reverberate around the sales and racing world.

Langlais strikes winning note

Wootton Bassett’s fine sale continued as a filly from Thierry de la Heronniere’s Haras d’Ellon was knocked down to Victor Langlais for €155,000, ending a somewhat luckless run for the agent in the process.

The filly can count a pair of Group winners in her immediate family, in Prix des Chenes winner and Dubai Sheema Classic third Calvados Blues, and Volta, a daughter of Siyouni who won the Prix de Sandringham and was also placed in the Prix de Diane and Rothschild.

Volta: a half-sister to Haras d’Ellon's Wootton Bassett fillyCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Her unraced dam, the 20-year-old Persian Belle, has produced eight winners during a productive career in the paddocks. The daughter of Machiavellian is also well-related as a half-sister to German Group 1 winner Neatico and a full-sister to American Grade 2 victress Beautyandthebeast.

She has also received two significant recent updates, with full-brother Scherzo making it two wins from as many starts for Yann Barberot, and Fernando Vichi - who appears under the filly’s second dam Nicola Bella - landing the Listed Nijinsky Stakes at Leopardstown in June.

Langlais said: “We’ve been beaten on quite a few fillies who were nice racing and breeding prospects so I’m happy to get her, as she has perhaps a nicer page than some of those others.

“Her brother looks like he’s a good horse with a lot of speed, which is a quality that a commercial breeder values. I have only ten per cent sold at the moment but I’ll put together a group of owners and she’ll go into training with Ludovic Gadbin.”

Final tally

With Tuesday’s v2 selection of precocious and speed-oriented yearlings counted separately, the three sessions of the select sale came to a close with total turnover of €40,229,000, which compared favourably with 2017 and 2018 but was €3.5m behind 2019’s record sale, the last meaningful comparison.

The average price was €162,638 and the median €100,000, while the clearance rate of a shade under 76 per cent will have been of some satisfaction for Arqana, eclipsing the 2019 performance and the best since 2016.

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