Americans at Arqana: Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?

[Wandering Eyes]

DEAUVILLE, FRANCE–Americans' plans for the Arqana sale were understandably shaken up when U.S. President Donald Trump made good on his threat to impose tariffs on the European Union and others in early August, meaning that French-bred horses purchased here-like all French products imported to America–would be subject to a 15% surcharge when they are brought back into America.

Several buyers are deciding to break, train and race their horses in Europe instead, while others will brave the fee and come back to the U.S. On the final day of the strong Arqana August sale, we took a poll of American buyers to see who would stay and who would go.

Justin Casse picked up lot 30, a Wootton Bassett colt for €300,000; and  lot 138, a Sea the Moon colt for€105,000. Neither will come to America; both will go into training with Joseph O'Brien in Ireland.

Deuce Greathouse is also leaning towards keeping his Mehmas (lot 38, €120,000) here to race. She was purchased for a new group of American buyers.

Ben Gowans purchased lot 56, an Acclamation filly for €240,000 and lot 139, a St. Mark's Basilica colt for €180,000, both for owner Mark Grier. “They are going back to America,” he said. “Arnaud Delacour will train them.”

The pair had an Arqana-to-America success at Saratoga last week when a filly they bought here for €340,000 in 2023, Evershed (Churchill) ran second in the GI Saratoga Oaks.

“I'm very happy with the horses we bought,” said Gowans. “I think we fell in a sweet spot in the area we were shopping. The top end has obviously been exceptionally strong and it has brought the numbers up, but I think there was plenty of opportunity to buy very nice horses this week for a reasonable amount of money.”

Ramiro Restrepo's Marquee Bloodstock struck for just one, lot 147, a Baaeed filly out of out of a Night of Thunder Listed-placed mare from the Moanmore Stables consignment, and while he came away from the sale happy with what he got, he said that we would not be seeing her in America. “She was the most Baaeed-looking Baaeed in the sale,” said Restrepo. “She will definitely be staying in France. We are so, so thrilled. My clients and partners are over the moon.”

As Mike Repole revealed on Sunday, his Dubawi filly will be headed to Italy to train at Endo Botti's training centre in Pisa, where she will be broken and pre-trained by Botti. She joins a trio of homebred colts who Repole sent over to Italy on Sunday as well. They include a yearling by Masar ex Ickworth by Shamardal; Bolt d'OroMo ex Shopping by Uncle Mo; and Kendargent exTempel by Deep Impact.

Repole is the son of two Italian immigrants, and grew up in Middle Village in Queens, New York. He said that he takes one trip a year to Italy and joked that the horses would give him an excuse to go more often.

Botti trains at his Endo Botti Galoppo stable in Pisa in conjunction with Cristiana Brivio, whose great-grandfather built the facility in the early 1900s. It boasts a private training track.

On the final day of the sale, Repole also picked up lot 242, a Night Of Thunder filly, for €300,000. As of late Monday, plans for the filly were still undetermined.

Repole's agents on the ground, Solis/Litt Bloodstock, also signed for lot 192, a filly by Wootton Bassett for €250,000 who will stay in Europe. She was purchased for the American outfit LNJ Bloodstock, and will be sent to Christopher Head.

   Kenny McPeek picked up a trio of fillies, all of which will eventually end up in America, and McPeek made it clear that this wouldn't be his last trip to Arqana.

“This is I think the fourth time I've attended this sale,” said McPeek. “It's a great trip and I invite all of my clients to come, and I had several take me up on it this year.” Those included Mystik Dan co-owners Lance Gasaway and his wife B.J. “Historically, I've bought eight yearlings here, and I have three stakes winners from them. This year, we knocked down three fillies, a Wootton Bassett (lot 63, for €160,000), a Zarak (176, for €110,000), and a Showcasing (lot 114, for €220,000). All of these horses will be raced in America. We may pre-train here and then send them to the United States later, and they're probably going to be Magdalena Racing partnerships. So we'll give some people out there an opportunity to buy into them. I'm strictly a yearling buyer. I love coming to this sale. I'll attend Tattersalls (October) and Goffs, and obviously Keeneland (September) and Fasig-Tipton (October) and that will wrap up my sales season.”

Mike Akers went to €300,000 to get lot 182, No Nay Never filly, for Bregman Family Racing, and she will head back to the U.S., according to Alex Bregman, the third baseman for the Boston Red Sox who is having one of the best years of his career playing for his new team.Texting from Massachusetts where his team will play the Baltimore Orioles tonight, he said, “Her plans are to come to the United States and join our team of fillies and hopefully be a broodmare for us one day after a great career on the track.”

Akers said that kind of positive attitude is a trademark of Bregman's, and he continues to shop globally to build a broodmare band with the aim of being in the business a long time. Bregman currently has seven broodmares, six of which are in foal. He will sell yearlings at Keeneland September.

“We have had good luck over there,” said Akers, pointing out the purchase of No Nay Mets at this sale in 2022 for €180,000. They resold him less than a year later for £800,000 at Goffs London after he won the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream in his debut, earning a Royal Ascot berth.

On the field or in the sales ring, Bregman shows a tenacity that even a tariff can't hold down, as did Americans across the board at the sale.

Time and again, the market's resilience has been tested-whether it be by a global pandemic or a global tax–but in the end, the buyers have found a way to continue to do what they love.

Said Akers, “It's really fun to see guys like that have success in our business.”

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