'We knew we’d have to pay a bit' - €190,000 Zarak colt leads the way on second day of Arqana

After the histrionics of Saturday night, trade returned to a more routine level during a solid second session at the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale on Sunday. The market was led by the Zarak foal bought by Morten Buskop for €190,000. 

Consigned by Haras de Montaigu, the colt is out of the Sea The Stars mare Brodie, a half-sister to the Group 3-winning Bauer. The page goes back to the likes of Capri and Commissioning. The colt is from the fifth crop of Haras de Bonneval’s Zarak, meaning he was bred at a fee of €25,000. The son of Dubawi and Zarkava will stand 2024 at €60,000.

After a protracted bidding duel, Buskop said: “My client is a very stubborn man when he decides he wants a horse! We like the Zaraks and we thought there was a lot of Dubawi about this horse. The page is nice and the Zarak-Sea The Stars cross should do the job, and we liked that there’s some Linamix further back in the pedigree too. 

"No plans have been decided yet but for now he will go to Haras de Bourgeauville to grow and get stronger.” 

Only one runner bred on the Zarak-Sea The Stars cross appears on the Racing Post database, but it is a significant one as the two-year-old Zaphod made an impressive winning debut at Tipperary for John O’Donoghue before finishing third to Grosvenor Square in the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes. 

Morten Buskop: "He’s a good individual and bred on a good cross so we knew we’d have to pay a bit"Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

“He’s been bought for a long-lasting client who likes to buy foals then make his mind up later whether he will race or resell as a yearling,” continued Buskop. 

“We thought he would be expensive because he vetted really well. We had two vets look at him, one from Scandinavia who assessed the x-rays and the scope and another who was on the ground. He’s a good individual and bred on a good cross so we knew we’d have to pay a bit.”

First-time visitor makes his mark  

First-time Deauville visitor Bob Feld’s signature shorts may not have been entirely appropriate for the inclement weather, but the US-based agent certainly wasn’t feeling the cold when he signed for Marelie at €150,000 as the temperature began to fall late in the session. 

The three-year-old daughter of De Treville was bred and raced by Rashit Shaykhutdinov and won at Deauville just five days before coming under the hammer. She was presented by Fairway Consignment and will now continue her career in California for the Amerman family. 

Explaining how his transatlantic buying mission came about, Feld said: “My son, Sean, came here last year and bought a weanling to pinhook. He bought a Sottsass who we’ve decided to race and he’s in Florida right now being broken. He told me I had to come to Deauville so I said count me in! 

Marelie: dual winner by De Treville headed the way of Bob Feld for €150,000 Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

“I showed up and the Amermans gave me carte blanche that if I liked something, I could call them. We landed on this filly early in the sale and she has an amazing frame and her win last week was pretty impressive. I told the Amermans that she’s a filly with a lot of upside, she’s just getting good right now. I think the price is a fair market value. I’d assume she’ll go to Michael McCarthy, he trains the owner’s Endlessly, who ran at the Breeders’ Cup.” 

Although De Treville has quietly compiled some eyecatching statistics from only a select number of runners, the agent conceded he had little knowledge of the Sumbe stallion’s record. Instead, he said he prioritises type rather than pedigree. 

“The one thing my son and I have done for many years, we don’t care about pedigrees,” he said. “Our biggest claim to fame is buying Hot Rod Charlie, who’s by Oxbow. Nobody wanted an Oxbow but we loved him as a baby. Pedigree means nothing to us, we buy physicals. Truly, we don’t care who a horse is by or what they’re out of, it’s all about racing for us.”

On his Deauville experience, Feld added: “My son told me it’s Del Mar meets Saratoga and it really is. It’s a very nice venue and I’m really enjoying the town.”

Another Grey day

Barely a sale goes by without a big result for the progeny of Havana Grey and that trend continued in Deauville when Endo Botti’s Royal Grey was knocked down to Ghislain Bozo of Meridian International at €135,000. 

The two-year-old won three races in Italy, most notably the Listed Premio Eupili at San Siro in October. 

“She’s going to be trained by Nicolas Clement,” said Bozo. “She’s a very nice filly with good form. The stallion needs no introduction and this filly has a solid page. She has a lot going for her. We’ll give her a break for a month then she will go back into training and hopefully take in a Listed win in France. She’s for a partnership between a client of Nicolas Clement’s and Ballylinch Stud.” 

Royal Grey: stakes-winning daughter of Havana Grey heads the way of Meridian International for €135,000 at ArqanaCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

Royal Grey’s pedigree has improved in tandem with her race record as she is out of the Lowther Stakes scorer Infamous Angel, dam of Alpine Dream, who in turn bred Qipco British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes heroine Poptronic. That Group 1-winning daughter of Nathaniel sold to an online bidder signing as Sanctuary Lodge at 1,400,000gns during the Sceptre Session at Tattersalls.

Bozo also shared his assessment of Whitsbury Manor Stud’s sire sensation Havana Grey. “He’s a lovely stallion and looks like he could be the next Wootton Bassett,” he said. “He stamps his stock well and they all seem to have a good temperament and are keen to do it on the track. I’ve been very impressed by him.” 

Royal Grey was bred in Britain by Glebe Farm Stud and sold to Antonino Caracciolo for £45,000 at the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale. 

Earlier in the day Meridian International signed for another lot who will be owned by a different partnership involving Ballylinch, with the Waldgeist filly out of Bianca De Medici bringing €115,000. 

The youngster is a sibling to six winners, most notably German Group 2 scorer Boscaccio, who now stands at Knockhouse Stud, and the high-class Alcantor, a clear-cut winner of the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon and runner-up to Sunway in the Group 1 Criterium International. 

“She’s a very good filly and obviously the mare is producing very nice horses,” Bozo said of the Haras du Hoguenet-consigned youngster. “We were underbidder on Alcantor together with Ballylinch. We’ll either pinhook the filly or race her, we haven’t decided yet.” 

John O’Connor, managing director of Ballylinch, added: “We like doing partnerships and we like to think we’re good to partner with. It’s been very successful for us and it’s a good way to spread the risk over a larger number of horses. 

"We mostly do it on the progeny of our own stallions and obviously she’s by Waldgeist. The trainers seem very positive about him. He has to get some more good winners next year but the trainers tell me they’re nice horses. 

“We were happy to have her and obviously the mare is proven as she’s bred some good horses, including one by our other stallion New Bay. We expect Alcantor to win a Group 1 next year so she’s a very nice filly to get.” 

Whelan on the board

The first six-figure lot was sourced in conjunction with Group 1-winning rider Ronan Whelan as Marc Antoine Berghgracht signed at €110,000 for JK Thoroughbreds’ St Mark’s Basilica colt. The youngster is out of Rufoof, a winning Zamindar half-sister to Muhaarar. 

“We spoke to Ronan Whelan, who told us that he loved this colt,” said Berghgracht. “He comes from a beautiful family and he is by a very promising stallion. He's taking him back to Ireland and they're going to give him some time, but he’s been bought for resale.” 

J.K. Thoroughbreds' St Mark's Basilica colt out of Rufoof sells to MAB Agency for €110,000 at ArqanaCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

Berghgracht also went to €100,000 for the Haras du Logis-consigned Tevara. The 15-year-old daughter of Compton Place has already bred two stakes performers in Listed winner Aiming For Rio and the Group 3 scorer Ocean. She was offered in foal to Victor Ludorum. 

The family has been in the headlines in recent weeks as Tevara is a half-sister to Stellarta, dam of the Cornwallis Stakes winner Rumstar. A Havana Grey brother to the Group 3-winning juvenile topped day two of the December Foal Sale to an online bid of 250,000gns from an anonymous buying signing as Rumstar Bloodstock. 

The 12-hour session of selling witnessed some painfully slow bidding that eventually resulted in a clearance rate of 83 per cent as 212 lots sold from 253 offered. Turnover was up two per cent compared to the corresponding day last year as €7,757,500 changed hands. The average price was virtually identical at €36,590, while the media rose by nine per cent to €30,000 from €27,500.

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale continues on Monday at 11am local time (10am GMT). 

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