Pardubicka winner joins the big league with session-topping Dubawi mare

After a frantic opening session, trade steadied during day two of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale in Deauville on Sunday. But with a lesser calibre of stock on offer proceedings were entitled to dip below Saturday's giddy highs, and with trade proving largely solid it appears those in attendance were not simply using the ring as a shield from the wintery elements.

By the time the final foal had passed through the floodlit parade ring and into the Arqana auditorium, 198 of 268 offered lots had sold for a clearance rate of 74 per cent.

Despite four six-figure lots changing hands - two more than in 2017 - the aggregate dropped by six per cent to €5,260,500. The average was also down by six per cent to €26,570, while the median was clipped in from €23,000 to €21,500.

View full Arqana Breeding Stock Sale results and stats

Czechoslovakian businessman Jiri Travnicek has enjoyed some headline successes racing in his native land, most notably as the owner of three-time Velka Pardubicka heroine Orphee Des Blins.

Travnicek has expanded his bloodstock interests to incorporate the Normandy farm Haras de Beaufay, and on Sunday he dipped into the market in a big way to claim the €150,000 Kapitale, a Group 3-winning Dubawi mare offered by the Wertheimer brothers carrying to Maxios.

"Mr Travnicek has bought Haras de Beaufay in Normandy so he is looking to improve his broodmare band," explained agent Tomas Janda. "We tried to get mares yesterday but the ones we liked were too expensive. This one was our main choice for today as she comes from a very good family and is a black-type mare by Dubawi."

Tomas Janda: 'We tried to get mares yesterday but the ones we liked were too expensive'Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

Kapitale, a ten-year-old half-sister to German Derby winner Kamsin, fetched $435,000 when bought by Stonereath Stud at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. She has produced one winner, Karismo, since retiring from racing.

"I don't know who she will be mated with yet but we'll look for a nice stallion, probably in France, although she's good enough to get into the best in Europe," added Janda, who said his client currently has around ten mares in France.

"The owner would like to run the stud commercially, that's why he's looking for mares the market will be interested in."

Janda also struck on behalf of Travnicek for Holly Polly, a Listed-placed daughter of Dylan Thomas who brought €40,000 when offered in foal to Charm Spirit.

Options open for Puerari

For much of the day the list of prices was led by Bartira, a winning daughter of Cape Cross and German 1,000 Guineas winner Briseida, who fetched €135,000 from Haras des Capucines' Eric Puerari

The winning bidder outlasted Paul Nataf to secure the Haras d'Etreham-consigned offering, who was carrying to Dream Ahead.

"She's been bought with our regular partners," said Puerari. "She's from the family of Breeders' Cup winner Zagora, who we bred, so we know the pedigree well. And she's still a young mare, and they're not easy to buy. I'm not sure who she'll be bred to next, I'm finding it hard enough to decide on matings for the mares we already own!"

Bartira, half-sister to German Group 3 winner Brisanto, has produced one winner from one runner since retiring to the paddocks, with her first foal, the Makfi colt Pappalino, having scored twice as well as finishing third in a Deauville Listed race.

Another six-figure lot with a strong German link was Waldfee, who was signed for by Chris Richner Bloodstock at €100,000.

The winning daughter of Dansili, offered in foal to Charm Spirit, was bought on behalf of Horst Pudwill, and will now form part of the first book of mares to visit the owner's Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin winner Dschingis Secret, who was recently retired to Haras de Saint Arnoult.

Waldfee boasts a strong German pedigree, as she is out of a daughter of Wurftaube, dam of Waldpark and great granddam of Waldgeist.

Railton plays the waiting game

Plenty of pinhookers waited around until the final lots of a marathon session, with the Wootton Bassett colt out of Misty Night offered by Haras de la Louviere firmly in the crosshairs of some noted judges.

Matters boiled down to Jamie Railton and Nancy Sexton, taking instructions on the phone in the gangway, until the former prevailed with a bid of €120,000 delivered from the end of the corridor to the right of the rostrum.

"All these horses have fair ratings," said Railton as he gestured towards the colt's siblings on the catalogue page. "The stallion is clearly very good and being out of a Galileo mare does him no harm either. He'll be syndicated and re-offered somewhere next year, although where I'm not yet sure."

The colt is out of Misty Night, the dam of two dual winners in Radiant Treasure and Misty Lord.

Lot 522: the Wootton Bassett colt bought by Jamie RailtonCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

Lady O'Reilly's Haras de la Louviere also offered the Wootton Bassett colt out of Blue Blue Sea, a daughter of Galileo who shares her page with the French 1,000 Guineas winner Bluemamba. After a protracted round of bidding, agent Mick Flanagan landed the spoils with a €70,000 play.

"He's a good colt by a stallion who looks very promising, and he's out of a Galileo mare, which can't be a bad influence," noted Flanagan.

"We'll take him back to Ireland and let him grow over the winter and bring him back to sell as a yearling. He's a colt I went to bed thinking about last night and he just kept niggling away at me."

Foote goes the distance

Australian agent John Foote continued to make his presence felt during the second session as he went to €90,000 for the Ecurie des Monceaux-consigned Aumale.

The three-year-old Dansili filly won one of her six starts for Nicolas Clement, having fetched 300,000gns from Peter and Ross Doyle and Markus Jooste's Mayfair Speculators at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Her half-brother, Real Smooth, looked a bright prospect when going down by just a nose to Battle For Glory, the War Front colt out of Immortal Verse, on debut in November.

"She cost 300,000gns as a yearling so she's clearly a nice filly," said Foote. "She's got a good pedigree too; her brother only got beaten a nose at Newmarket and the mother has been bred very well so we're hoping for the best."

The page looks primed for some major updates in the coming years, not least because her dam is a sister to Just The Judge, whose first two foals fetched seven-figure sums when offered at Arqana this year. Just The Judge's Dubawi yearling colt was bought by Ballylinch Stud for €1.4 million to top the August Yearling Sale, while her filly foal by the same sire went the way of Godolphin for €1m during Saturday's session.

"She could easily be worth a lot more one day," said Foote. "She'll go to Cambridge Stud in New Zealand. The Lindsays [Brendan and Jo, Cambridge Stud owners] inherited 85 mares from the old team at the stud and the plan will be to sell some of those.

"That means they're looking to restock with some new blood, and European blood suits New Zealand. We just need to find a bit of value and hope they're good - buying them is the easy part."

O'Toole on fire

Margaret O'Toole was another pinhooker kept busy in Deauville, and she made her visit worthwhile when she secured a Le Havre filly from the family of Green Tune and Pas De Reponse at €76,000.

"She's a lovely filly by a hugely successful stallion," O'Toole said of the La Motteraye Consignment's offering. "All doors are wide open at this stage as to what she does next."

Later in the session the agent's name also appeared on the docket of a €70,000 Showcasing filly who shares her page with Sander Camillo.

"It's been impossible to buy a Showcasing foal recently so I'm thrilled to have got her," O'Toole said of the Castillon-consigned youngster. "As with the Le Havre filly, there are plenty of options open for her, she could be resold next year or kept for racing."

More from Arqana:

Lily's Candle lights up Deauville in latest chapter of rags to riches tale

'We've come here looking for Galileo blood that doesn't have any Danehill in'