Mystery surrounds the buyer but no mistaking the price as Place Du Carrousel smashes Arqana record at €4,025,000

Prix de l'Opera heroine Place Du Carrousel produced a bidding battle for the ages in Deauville on Saturday evening. And the contest took an age, too. The outcome of almost a quarter of an hour’s worth of bidding was the hammer fell at €4,025,000, making the Haras de Bouquetot-consigned filly the most expensive horse ever sold at Arqana. 

The bid board quickly skipped into seven-figure territory and continued to tick over at €100,000 increments until the bell rang to signal an online increase of €25,000 when the price was already beyond €3 million. 

Agent Tina Rau, taking instructions on the phone in the restaurant, was involved until late in the piece, while the penultimate bid of €4m came from the Coolmore camp, with Paul Shanahan and MV Magnier directing their involvement to the bid-spotter by the entrance to the ring.

However, the Coolmore team walked away when the online bidder played their final €25,000 raise. The docket was signed by Portofino Bloodstock. 

An air of mystery surrounded the identity of the buyer as the Arqana team were unable to reveal who is behind the name Portofino Bloodstock. Zhang Yuesheng has been an active online player at the top of the European bloodstock market in the past but representatives were unable to confirm or deny the involvement of the Yulong Investments man. 

Place Du Carrousel was raced in partnership by Al Shaqab Racing and Ballylinch Stud, with the latter partner also co-breeder along with Alexis and Fan Adamian. 

“Everyone on the campus knew she was an outstanding physical, an excellent race filly and by a top sire,” said John O’Connor, managing director of Ballylinch Stud. “We had a good go at buying her back ourselves but there was a big battle to get her. We would have loved to have her back but I’m sure she’ll be going to the top stallions, whoever has bought her. 

“We’re happy for everyone involved though; our partners who raced her with us, our co-breeder, everything is good. I’ve been at all the breeding stock sales in Europe this year and, for me, she was the best overall package between looks and racing, she was just a queen.”

Reflecting on the bidding marathon that saw Place Du Carrousel etch her name into Arqana history, O’Connor said: “We’re in a new era now where online bids come in at a slower rate and at various figures, so we have to get used to that. We knew she was going to make a lot of money, whether we were going to get her ourselves was never clear. We knew there’d be plenty of opposition, and at the highest level, but you never really know what they’re going to make.” 

Place Du Carrousel: 'Just a queen'Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

The four-year-old Lope De Vega filly is the first foal out of Traffic Jam, a daughter of Duke Of Marmalade who won the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris during her time in training. The mare was raced by Alexis Adamian after Rau purchased the relative of Lillie Langtry, dam of Empress Josephine, Minding and Tuesday, for €65,000 at Goffs in 2014. Traffic Jam produced a sister to Place Du Carrousel on March 12 this year. 

“The mare is young, she’s her first foal, and we have a beautiful full-sister who’s a weanling at the moment,” added O’Connor. “I think there's still a lot to come from this family. I wish the purchasers the best of luck and I’m sure she’ll be very successful. We’re going to discuss what we do with the sister soon. She’s very nice so we’re going to have some interesting conversations over the next few months.” 

Place Du Carrousel ran ten times for Andre Fabre after Al Shaqab bought into the filly for €260,000 at Arqana in 2020. She also won a brace of Group 3s and the Group 2 Prix Foy. 

Another for Newsells Park

A short while later Jill Lamb bid €2m to secure the Group 2 Prix du Muguet winner Sibila Spain on behalf of Newsells Park Stud. The daughter of Frankel was offered by Haras de l’Hotellerie on behalf of Yeguada Centurion. The five-year-old was sold in foal for the first time and carrying to Dubawi. 

“She’s a lovely mare, she’s beautiful,” said Newsell Park’s owner Graham Smith-Bernal. “She won a Group 2 and she was very tough and competitive. We loved her and of course she’s in foal to Dubawi, and we’ve all seen how good the Frankel-Dubawi cross is. 

"We thought we might have had to go a little bit further but we’re absolutely delighted to get her. She was the big one that we really wanted. We’re rolling the dice, this is what the game is all about.” 

As well as a race record that includes fourth-place finishes in the Prix Saint-Alary and Prix de Diane, Sibila Spain boasts a deep pedigree. She is a sister to the Group 3-winning and Gold Cup third Master Of Reality and is out of L'Ancresse, a Listed-winning and Group 1-placed sibling to the likes of Cerulean Sky and Moonstone. The Coolmore-bred Sibila Spain was bought by Yeguada Centurion for €240,000 at the 2019 August Yearling Sale.

Sibila Spain: exciting new recruit for Newsells Park Stud at €2mCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

Newsells Park has been busy as a buyer and seller in recent weeks, and Smith-Bernal expanded on the stud’s strategic vision. 

“We’re bringing more partners in and spreading the risk,” he said. “We’ve just created a breeding fund and part of this mare will go into that. We’ve basically got a £2m fund, half the shares are owned by us and half are owned by partners. The fund is nearly closed and has proved incredibly popular. 

"It’s a new thing we’ve introduced this year and next year we’re going to double it in size. It’s the best way to do it, rather than putting all your eggs in one basket. A lot of people have found it a very attractive proposition, and a lot of those investors have come from our racing club and decided they want to get into the business side.” 

That seven-figure transaction was quickly followed by Pearls Galore being hammered down at €2.4m, although it transpired the Group 1-winning daughter of Invincible Spirit had been bought in by Haras de Saint Pair. 

Ammerland action

The first seven-figure lot of the session came when Godolphin outbid Japanese interests at €1.25m to secure Sea The Sky, the leading light from the Gestut Ammerland dispersal. The four-year-old is by Sea The Stars and out of Sanwa, making her a sister to the German Derby winner and high-performing Lanwades Stud stallion Sea The Moon. 

Sea The Sky won the Listed Prix Joubert during her time with Andre Fabre and was also beaten under two lengths when fifth to Sea La Rosa in the Group 1 Prix de Royallieu. She was making her second appearance at the sales having been bought from Gestut Gorlsdorf at €820,000 at the 2020 BBAG Yearling Sale. 

Sea The Sky: commanded the highest price from choice Ammerland bunchCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

“We were very keen on her as a yearling and nearly bought her then,” said Godolphin’s Anthony Stroud. “Being by Sea The Stars means you can breed her to Frankel or Dubawi. She was a good racehorse and it’s a wonderful family. She’ll be a good addition to our broodmare band. 

“We bought a very nice filly in America [the $4m Faiza] and although we didn’t get anything in Tattersalls, we tried. Any broodmare band needs to be replenished from time to time. It’s important to keep it going.”

The next lot into the ring was Ammerland’s Lady Frankel, a Group 3-winning half-sister to Lope De Vega in foal to New Bay. The Prix de Lieurey winner, who also finished third to Rhododendron in the Prix de l'Opera, went the way of Bobby Flay on an online bid of €900,000. Ammerland sold 12 lots for a combined €4.002m

Yoshida captures Channel 

Another Group 1 winner to come under the hammer was Prix de Diane scorer Channel. The seven-year-old will continue her breeding career in Japan having gone the way of Katsumi Yoshida and the Narvick International agency at €1.2m. 

“She was bought by Katsumi Yoshida, who has a large choice of stallions,” said Narvick’s Emmanuel de Seroux. “He has not decided which she will visit yet, though. She was one of the two or three Group 1 winners we were trying to buy today and she was the best value of all. 

"We were very happy with the final price, especially compared to the others who cost twice or three times as much for the same quality. It’s always hard to put a value on these fillies but she was definitely one of our top choices.”

De Seroux added: “Katsumi Yoshida has been buying mares in Europe and America for years and he’s built a large, quality broodmare band by buying Group 1 mares wherever he can get them. Europe, the US, South America, Australia, he’ll go wherever there are good horses.” 

Channel in the ring on Saturday, when she was hammered down for €1.2mCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

Presented by La Motterage Consignment, the daughter of Nathaniel was offered in foal to Wootton Bassett. Channel, who comes from the immediate family of Alexandrova, has been to the sales on two previous occasions. 

She was signed for by Meridian International at just €18,000 when offered by her breeder Kilcarn Stud at the 2017 Goffs Orby Sale. She then left Mayfield Stables a profit when she fetched €70,000 from Bertrand Le Metayer at the following year’s Arqana Breeze-Up Sale, before she went into training with Francis Graffard for owner Samuel de Barros. 

Channel’s first foal, the twice-raced two-year-old Sea The Stars filly Million Miles Away, sold to Gerard Larrieu for €400,000 at the 2022 August Sale. Her second foal, a colt by Kingman, brought €200,000 from Yamamoto Hidetoshi at this year’s yearling sale. 

Sumbe steps in 

Nurlan Bizakov’s upwardly mobile Sumbe operation continued to add to its broodmare band with the €850,000 acquisition of Mirakova from the Wertheimer brothers. The four-year-old daughter of Lope De Vega didn’t race herself but hails from a blue-chip family. 

She is a sibling to the winning and Listed-placed Kovanof and out of Terrakova, a daughter of Galileo and the brilliant Goldikova who won the Group 3 Prix Cleopatre and finished third to Senga in the Group 1 Prix de Diane in 2017. She was offered in foal to Siyouni and is set to visit one of Sumbe’s new stallions, a roster that includes Angel Bleu, Belbek and Mishriff. 

Mirakova: €850,000 purchase in DeauvilleCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

“She’s a lovely, quality mare in foal to a champion,” said Sumbe manager Tony Fry. “She walks, she’s correct but she didn’t race because she had an accident. She can’t go to Angel Bleu as they're both out of mares by Galileo but she could go to Mishriff or Belbek, and they’d suit her physically. She was one we really wanted to go home with, and they don’t come along very often.” 

Fahrhof give Niarchos mare a new home

Following on from a blockbuster night at Goffs last month, the Niarchos family continued to restructure their bloodstock portfolio by offering a handful of fillies and mares from their signature families.

The most sought after member of the draft was The Planets, who sold to leading German farm Gestüt Fährhof for €700,000 when presented by Baroda Stud. 

The winning three-year-old possesses an eyecatching pedigree as she is a Sea The Stars half-sister to Prix du Jockey Club hero and Lanwades stallion Study Of Man. She is related to some of the Niarchos’s most recognisable names as she is a granddaughter of the influential Miesque. Her dam, Second Happiness, is a Storm Cat sibling to the likes of East Of The Moon and Kingmambo. 

The Planets in the Arqana ring on SaturdayCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

“We want to establish a family with her in Germany,” said Fahrhof’s stud manager Stefan Ullrich. “She’s closely related to Miesque and you cannot find that blood so often at the moment, which is why we were so interested in her. Maybe she’ll be covered in France but we still have to decide. There are plenty of opportunities.”

The Planets began her career with Andre Fabre before being transferred to the care of Philip Sogorb, who prepared her for her victory in the provinces at Angouleme. 

This transaction is not the first time the two operations have linked up as the Niarchos family bred and raced Maxios, who won two Group 1s before beginning his stallion career at Fahrhof. 

On the opportunity to buy into such an esteemed family, Ullrich said: “We have been friends with the Niarchos family since Maxios and we had a very good partnership with them. Since then we got to know these families very well. 

"We want to get more international and this is the blood you need to have if you want to establish new mares at home who produce interesting yearlings for the sales. That’s our intention.

“She’s a winning mare, of course she could have been a better runner and her rating isn’t that high, but she’s sound and has no vices.” 

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale continues on Sunday at 10am local time (9am GMT).

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