We Can See The Finish Line: International Vendors Make the Trek to Arqana

[Wandering Eyes]

by Sue Finley and Katie Petrunyak 

For European consignors, the sales season is less a sprint than a marathon, beginning in the August heat at Arqana and running nearly straight through to a frenzied finale of breeding stock sales just as the winter chill signals the season's end.

While many Irish and British teams pack up their supplies for the year once their last mare has stepped out of the ring at Tattersalls, plenty see the value in making one final trek across the Channel. It's the last stop in a rigorous sales stretch, but those who go the distance consider Arqana's Vente d'Elevage Sale a fitting finale.

Baroda Stud led the way at the Tattersalls December Sale which closed on Wednesday, selling both the sales topper, Barnavara (Calyx), for 4.8 million guineas, and concluding the sale as the leading overall consignor with gross receipts for the 30 sold at 9,713,500 guineas.

And though making it through three major sales in less than a month is a grueling prospect, Baroda's David Cox said he wouldn't miss ending the year at Arqana.

“Our clients like to sell here,” said Cox, who estimated that he had been selling at Arqana for eight to 10 years. “Arqana are very good to deal with and we've had a lot of luck in the past selling some very nice mares and fillies.”

In 2022, Baroda sold a pair of seven-figure fillies at the Arqana December Sale; Burgarita (Sea The Stars), who went to Godolphin for €1.7 million, and Oscula (Galileo Gold), who sold for €1 million to Ted Voute. “This year,” said Cox, “we put together a few horses of our own and then some clients also wanted to sell here so it makes sense. All the buyers come here; there's a really good group of buyers.”

Baroda figures to have some attractive prospects this week in Deauville.

They will offer lot 196, Beautiful Warrior (Saxon Warrior), a half-sister to French Classic winner Beauty Parlour (Deep Impact), in foal to Kingman. “We've sold some of the family in France before,” said Cox. “She'll stand out here in foal to Kingman. She's a nice big mare; a good-walking mare.”

While Beautiful Warrior is one of four mares in foal to Kingman in the sale, Cox said, “We will also offer the only mare in the sale in foal to Lope De Vega in Pretty Milanova (lot 163).” She hails from the family of Blush With Pride.

Among their draft of foals, he said, “We have a nice No Nay Never filly foal (lot 145) and a Havana Grey foal (177). They sold very well in the earlier sales and will be very popular.”

In order to accomplish the hat trick of the back-to-back-to-back sales, planning is key, said Cox.

“The sales are so on top of each other that we have to be very well organized,” he said. “Our crew go to Newmarket when we're still selling at Goffs. We have some good guys in France, so we're set up here with the gear which comes from Ireland before my staff gets here from Newmarket. I came in (Thursday) from the flight and we have to hit the ground running. People are here. We started showing at 2:00 and we were run off our feet by 3:00.”

But in the end, the hard work is worth it, he said. “We've been very lucky over the years,” he said. “To be sale topper and top consignor (at Tattersalls) was great. For Tamso and I, it's a lot of hours away from the family, and a lot of time on the road. Padraig (Gahan) and the team I have at home keep the show running when we're on the road. It's great for the brand, and everyone involved.”

Second behind Baroda Stud among top consignors this week at Tattersalls, The Castlebridge Consignment is also a consistent presence in Arqana. After a brief hiatus from the December Sale from 2017 to 2021, the perennial leading vendor has seen success here over the past few years.

“It's a beautiful place to sell horses,” said The Castlebridge Consignment's UK-based Sales Executive Patrick Diamond. “It's a nice place to be and it gives you an opportunity to bring a slightly different horse to market. We obviously sell a good volume of horses in the mare and foal sales at Goffs and Tattersalls, so it's nice to bring a different type of horse that will maybe stand out a little, separate the drafts from across the way and hopefully suit different clients.”

The Castlebridge Consignment was the leading vendor at this year's Goffs Mare Sale and Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale, a reflection of their emphasis on matching each horse to the right sale. Diamond said that bringing a draft to Arqana gives their team more flexibility for positioning horses across the breeding stock calendar.

“The benefit of selling quality horses at different places is that you start to realize which clientele suits which sale and where people like to buy,” he explained. “You're trying to put different kinds of horses that suit different kinds of people based on the volume of people that might come to a sale here versus Goffs or Newmarket. It's trying to work out where each horse might deliver its maximum price.”

He continued, “I think sometimes a different kind of profile of sire might suit France. In England and Ireland it's more the top-end stallions that are all well-known and sometimes in France you can put a horse that might not be the most obvious horse in the world, but people will still gravitate towards them. There's also quite a nice international contingent we've found over the last few years here. The Australians are quite keen here and the Americans look here as well. Obviously there's a strong contingent from Japan.”

The Castlebridge Consignment's 14 offerings feature a mix of mares, foals and racing prospects. In-foal mares include lot 42, Embody (Acclamation), who is a full-sister to Breeders' Cup Mile victor Expert Eye in foal to Havana Grey and lot 185, Decipher (Noble Mission), a half-sister to this season's multiple Group 1 and Classic winner Minnie Hauk (Frankel).

“We have a really nice draft,” said Diamond. “We have a bunch of quality fillies and broodmare prospects and then a couple of mares in foals to exciting stallions like Havana Grey. Decipher is in foal on Southern Hemisphere to Starman and is from a current Oaks-winning family. We are also offering fillies and a couple of foals that I think are at all levels of the market here and should attract buyers from across the globe.”

Diamond is optimistic that, after record sales over the past few weeks, the trend will continue at Arqana.

“The strength of the sales at Goffs and in Newmarket normally means that once you get to Arqana, there are a lot of people that still have orders to fill or are looking to add a quality mare to their broodmare band. It's always a really well-attended sale. It's at the end of a long season of selling horses, but Arqana do an amazing job of getting people to the sale and looking after people. Everyone comes in here in good spirits and is still keen to buy.”

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