Arqana August Yearlings Draw International Intrigue

The Arqana August Sale may be France's biggest yearling auction, but this year British and Irish vendors have a notably increased presence among those selling Aug. 16-18 in Deauville. Twelve months ago seven British and Irish consignors supplied 36 (12%) of the 292 offered yearlings. This time around there are 11 vendors venturing across the English Channel, who between them are bringing 48 (16%) of the 307-lot catalog. Arqana chief executive Freddy Powell said the shift had come about organically, with sellers seeking fresh opportunities in an increasingly commercialized marketplace. "The attraction of Deauville at this time of year is one thing," he said. "I also think people are looking for diversification, in terms of places to sell and of stallions. There's an appeal in being one of three or four lots by a particular sire in a sale, rather than being one of 30. We'll see more and more people trying to find that diversification to stand out a bit, especially because so many sires are covering so many mares commercially now. You have to find an angle." While studs like Ballylinch, Baroda, and Camas Park have been ever present in recent years, they have been joined this time around by the likes of Hazelwood Bloodstock, Moanmore Stables, and Tweenhills. This is not Yeomanstown Stud's first visit to the August Sale, but it has been a number of years since the O'Callaghan family's outfit made the 650-plus-mile trip from County Kildare to Deauville. "We used to always take a few to France but it's been about 10 years since our last time there, maybe a bit more," said the operation's David O'Callaghan. "Historically you've always needed a Book 1 horse for this sale, and we took the view that we'd just take the Book 1 horse to Book 1. "But this year we have a couple of big, mature colts that we thought would be ready in August, so why not see if we can get involved there as well. When I'm in Doncaster every year I always hear that there aren't enough big, mature horses in Arqana, so we said we'd send a couple and see if people want them." The Yeomanstown draft is comprised of a Starspangledbanner (AUS) colt (Lot 42), a €65,000 pinhook whose brother Alfred Tennyson opened his account for the Coolmore partners in late June, and a homebred son of Dark Angel (IRE) from the Height of Fashion family (137). David Redvers' Tweenhills operation enjoyed a memorable return to the yearling market in 2024, with the first consignment for 12 years capped by a brother to New Century (GB), who set a Book 2 colts' record when bought by Godolphin for 1 million guineas. This year Tweenhills is branching out by selling under its own banner at Arqana for the first time. The consignment contains a well-bred daughter of first-season sire on fire Starman (GB) (76), a New Bay (GB) filly out of the group 3-winning and group 1-placed Lord Kanaloa (JPN) mare Know It All (GB) (124), and a Siyouni (FR) colt out of 2011 Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) heroine Lightening Pearl (IRE) (140). "We've got a large draft going forward for all of the sales companies, and that's off the back of the success of last year," Redvers said. "We've often sold over at Arqana, and sold very well, but we tend to sell through agents. This year we've got three beautiful yearlings going there, all of which are very worthy of a select sale spot. "There's no point sending a middle-range yearling to Deauville, you have to send something very smart with a very smart pedigree to stand out. If they haven't got French premiums, they need to be something with a standalone pedigree where the premiums are of no consequence. Freddy Powell from Arqana is a great friend and he comes around the farm every year. We took his advice and these were the three he felt would suit particularly well." The New Bay filly and Siyouni colt were bred by Sheikh Fahad's Qatar Bloodstock, while the Starman filly looks a shrewd pinhook having cost the Redwall syndicate 37,000 guineas before the stallion exploded onto the scene. Redvers echoed Powell's earlier point about scarcity value when he expanded on the decision to bring the Starman filly to Deauville. "We like the idea of taking a well-bred Starman filly to Arqana and being one of a small, select handful rather than possibly being one of many in Doncaster or Tattersalls," he said. "The stallion goes from strength to strength, and she's got a great pedigree and she's a beautiful physical." Market Expectations Given the very nature of racing and breeding, almost every vendor heading to market this year, at Arqana and beyond, will likely do so with a degree of optimism. Naturally this includes those descending on Deauville with their first yearling consignment of 2025. "The yearlings that everybody desires will sell very well, but I think there seems to be a decent hunger for horses in general," O'Callaghan said. "Each sale looks like they've tightened their numbers up a little bit so I'd be hopeful the middle will hold up pretty well. Let's hope there's a bit of a bottom to it too. It's an amazing industry that seems to be very resilient." He added: "Arqana have a great track record of bringing a range of international buyers in, there's no one better at that than Arqana. They're able to get the buyers so they're entitled to get the best horses, and they get those every year. They've got a good track record of selling very good horses." Redvers also acknowledged the international buying bench that usually arrives in Deauville, as well as the potential for new names to emerge. "It's always hard to read the market because you never quite know what's going to happen. Last year trade at Arqana was very satisfactory and we thought it might be the best trade of the year," he said. "Lo and behold, Amo got stuck in and Sheikh Mohammed matched him and the whole thing took off again at Tattersalls. You can never rely on one set of circumstances playing out though, so you have to spread your risk throughout the sales. "Arqana do an amazing job pulling in multinational buyers; there's a plane from America and I know there's lots of Japanese coming as usual. There's also the potential for one or two major investors to get stuck in who've bought farms in France recently but don't have the stock to fill them. Well-bred fillies are likely to be at the top of their shopping list." Redvers added: "At this stage, the yearling sales are a mixture of dread and fascination because the summer is nearly over and once the sales start, they don't finish until Christmas. While we look forward to seeing what the market holds, and hopefully making a bit of money, you know you're into a cycle that doesn't end until winter." American Offerings A handful of American-bred or -sired lots will be on offer in the August Sale. Two by 2025 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah are on offer, including Lot 259 bred in Kentucky by B. Flay Thoroughbreds. Out of the Galileo mare Singing Sweetly, the colt is from the family of grade/group 1 winners Mozu Ascot, To Honor and Serve, and Angela Renee. Lot 33 is a Not This Time colt out of the stakes-placed Candy Ride (ARG) mare Blamethechampagne, a half sibling to grade 3 winner Beyond Blame, who is the dam grade 1-placed Loggins. Bred in Kentucky by Garrenross Unlimited and Paget Bloodstock, the colt was purchased for $225,000 as a weanling at the 2024 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale by Haras d'Etreham. Two French-bred Justify colts, a Kentucky-bred Bolt d'Oro colt, and a French-bred Medaglia d'Oro filly round out the United States-sired offerings.