Saudi Cup-winning owner steps up French project with Medaglia D'Oro sale-topper

While Melbourne Cup heroine Verry Elleegant has been turning heads on the gallops in Chantilly, she is far from the only equine VIP summering in France’s horse paradise.

Surprise Saudi Cup winner Emblem Road has been sent by his owner Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz to join the Alessandro and Giuseppe Botti yard and, while the move was initially described as a holiday, connections have been so pleased with the son of Quality Road that a plan has been hatched to aim at the Prix Jacques le Marois via the Group 3 Prix Messidor.

With a growing race programme at home Saudi connections were extremely active throughout the breeze-up season on both sides of the Atlantic.

Emblem Road and Wigberto Ramos win the Saudi CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

But the Emblem Road team have decided to extend their relationship with the Bottis and Chantilly, striking for the two highest-priced lots in the two-year-old section of Thursday’s opening session in Deauville.

The connection between Riyadh and Chantilly is a strongly Italian one - the prince’s racing and bloodstock interests are managed by Saudi-based Renato Geiger and it was compatriot Marco Bozzi who signed for both colts.

First up was lot 33, a Medaglia D’Oro colt out of the Johannesburg mare So Stylish, a half-sister to One Cool Cat.

Consigned by MC Thoroughbreds, Bozzi had been tracking his prime target throughout the spring and won out at €220,000, much to the delight of Botti, his prospective trainer.

“Marco Bozzi recommended the horse to us and has been bought for Saud Bin Salman,” said Botti. “He will probably start his career here in France and could be campaigned abroad in time.

"There was a lot of interest around the horse and he breezed well. We have been following him for a while and Marco and Renato have done their job well.”

Marco Bozzi (right) with the team of Prince Saud bin Salman Albdulaziz after signing for the top lot on day one of the Arqana Sunner saleCredit: Arqana/Zuzanna Lupa

Asked what he liked about the colt, Bozzi said: “The pedigree of course and they love Medaglia D’Oro.

"He's a really nice horse and we were hoping to buy him at Goresbridge but he missed the sale so we’ve had to wait to get him here. We went to see him in Ireland a month ago and we really loved him.”

Knockanglass Stables’ son of Exceed And Excel (lot 72) also caught the eye of Bozzi and the prince’s team, and was secured at €110,000.

Out of the Intikhab mare Duquesa, the colt is a half-brother to Born To Be and counts Prix Marcel Boussac third and black type producer Love Of Silver as his second dam.

Bozzi said: "We know this horse as we had already seen him and were excited to see him come through. He's a lovely colt that has matured nicely since we last saw him. His future trainer likes him a lot."

At €77,000 BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe fought off strong competition to secure lot 69, a daughter of More Than Ready consigned by Mocklershill.

The filly is the third product out of the winning Congrats mare Desire Street, whose Into Mischief daughter Tulane Tryst was runner-up in the Grade 3 Whitmore Stakes at Oaklawn Park in March.

Donohoe was acting on behalf of Yuesheng Zhang’s Yulong Investments, whose green and white silks have been carried with distinction in both Europe and Australia by horses such as Lucky Vega and Hungry Heart.

“More Than Ready has had great success in both the northern and southern hemispheres and she just made a lot of sense," Donohoe said. "She’s a filly I saw here in May when unfortunately she suffered from a bit of travel sickness."

Doctor's orders in store session

Two thirds of day one was given over to two-year-old stores and the tale was a familiar one from recent jumping sessions in Deauville; namely the clamour for stock by Haras du Mesnil stallion Doctor Dino.

If there was a slightly different accent on that trade, it was that several of the most expensive lots will be staying in France.

Lot 114, a Doctor Dino colt, topped the store sessionCredit: Arqana/Zuzanna Lupa

Leading the way at €210,000 was the already named Doctor Champdoux, brought to market by Jean-Marie Callier.

He is out of the Voix Du Nord mare Miss De Champdoux, a winner of several of Enghien’s best graded prizes over both hurdles and fences during her racing career and already proving herself an excellent producer thanks to her first two runners.

Marius Cypres, son of famed breeder Thierry, signed under the name of Bridge Consignment.

"He’s a horse I was lucky enough to see grow up at my father’s place,” said Cypres. "He was born at home and I'm delighted to be able to buy him on behalf of a new owner to French racing, who is in partnership with my dad and another friend.

"It's a very current family, with the dam's half-brother winning at Graded level this year and this horse’s brother finishing in the money in a black type race just a week ago."

Nicolle to train two regally bred sons of Doctor Dino

Also surfing the Doctor Dino wave was Nicolas Bertran de Balanda, who bought two horses destined for the boxes of reigning French champion trainer Francois Nicolle in Royan.

Both Magnum Opus (lot 104) and Earl Of Shannon (lot 145) are 100 per cent products of Mesnil, the farm which has turned the former Richard Gibson-trained globetrotter into a phenomenon in the world of French jumps breeding.

Standing with Nicolle and owner Xavier Papot, Bertran de Balanda gave €160,000 for Magnum Opus, who is out of the unraced Saint Des Saints mare Magnificat, herself a full-sister to both Nicolle’s 2022 Prix Robert de Clermont Tonnerre winner Happy Monarch and the classy Richard Hobson-trained stayer Lord Du Mesnil.

Bertran de Balanda said: "He's a good individual and a big horse. He's probably going to take a bit of time but he looks like a chaser in the making.

"He's by a very good stallion from a very good family. Francois trained many horses from the family and we know the breeders are very good. He ticks a lot of boxes and the vetting was good."

Lot 104 was one of the Nicolas Bertran de Balanda purchasesCredit: Arqana/Zuzanna Lupa

Earl Of Shannon (€120,000) is from another hugely successful Haras du Mesnil family and his dam Shannon Pearl is a winning full-sister to the remarkable Shannon Rock, four-time runner up in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.

Authorized the key for Thomas and Walters

Highflyer Bloodstock were working hard on behalf of longtime client Dai Walters, with three of the top 11 purchases on the day.

At €150,000 the pick was an AQPS son of Authorized from Charles Briere's Fairway Consignment.

The gelding is out of a Barastraight full-sister to Baie Des Iles, who won the Grade 2 Prix des Drags at Auteuil for Ross O'Sullivan in the colours of Zorka Wentworth.

David Minton (left) was teaming up with Dai Walters and Sam ThomasCredit: Arqana/Zuzanna Lupa

Walters described the horse as Sam Thomas' pick of the sale and the trainer was delighted to secure him.

"He's just a lovely model, very athletic and he looks very straightforward," said Thomas. "Authorized is obviously a top stallion. We’ll get him home and he’s one to look forward to."

Walters revealed that Thomas already had a very promising youngster by the same stallion in training at their South Wales base, though neither man was prepared to divulge a name, only that the subject of the rave reviews was also bought at Arqana.

The Highflyer/Walters team also bought a son of Beaumec De Houelle (lot 195) consigned by Haras de Pierres Follets for €95,000, and a Bathyrhon gelding from Haras de Clairefontaine (lot 147) at €90,000.

The latter is a half-brother to Earlofthecotswolds, a revelation on the Flat over the winter for Nigel Twiston-Davies, and to Good Risk At All, a winner at Ascot by nine lengths for Walters and Thomas.

Key indicators all point north

169 of the 205 horses offered found a new home for an impressive clearance rate of more than 82 per cent, up from 73 per cent for the same session last year.

Turnover rose by 60 per cent at €5,598,000, with the average price also rocketing from €20,699 12 months ago to €33,127.

Friday's concluding session is devoted to horses in training and broodmare prospects, and begins at 11am local time.

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