As soon as the hammer fell down on the concluding day of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Oct. 17, attention swiftly turned to Arqana and the treasure trove of prospects lined up for their October Yearling Sale Oct. 21-25.
The sale has increasingly grown in prominence thanks to star graduates such as four-time group 1 hero Paddington, as well as this year's Prix Jean Prat (G1) scorer Woodshauna and 2024 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (G1) victor Metropolitan.
Other leading lights unearthed at the sale include this year's Australian Cup (G1) scorer Light Infantry Man, who finished a neck behind Inspiral in the Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) when trained by David Simcock, and another top-flight Australian winner in Land Legend, who captured last year's Metropolitan Handicap (G1) for Chris Waller.
Perennial leading consignor Ecurie des Monceaux will once again be strongly represented, with sire power and high-class distaff lines the order of the day.
Henri Bozo, manager of Ecurie des Monceaux, said of the team: "We've got some by established sires like Siyouni, St Mark's Basilica, Cracksman, Mehmas and New Bay, while there are those by up-and-coming stallions like Space Blues, who's having an exciting start, and Baaeed."
On the offerings by Shadwell's exciting young sire, he added: "We've got two by Baaeed and they should be a good promotion for the stallion, they're a colt and a filly and they're very nice."
The colt by Darley's promising young sire Space Blues (Lot 52) is out of the winning Shalaa mare Divertissement, herself a daughter of a Galileo sister to Australian group 1 heroine Magic Wand. It is the further family of Pacifique, Prudenzia, and Platonic, as well as recent Prix Marcel Boussac (G1) heroine Diamond Necklace.
Of the mating, Bozo explained: "It's a family which has done well with Dubawi and that's why we sent her to the stallion, who has made a very good start."
Other notables in the typically strong draft include a Siyouni filly out of a Galileo daughter of Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (G1) winner Beauty Parlour (Lot 26); a Siyouni colt from the family of American grade 1 winners Queen's Trust and Domestic Spending (Lot 39); a New Bay colt out of a winning daughter of Phoenix Stakes (G1) heroine Damson (Lot 81); and a Siyouni half sister to Prix Jean Prat (G1) winner Intellogent (Lot 129).
Bozo is impressed with the quality of this year's catalog and is strongly of the belief that the auction will go from strength to strength in the years ahead.
He said: "I was very impressed by the sire power and I think it's a sale which makes great improvement every year. The August is a great sale and has a tremendous record on the track, (but) it's limited by numbers as not all yearlings can go in August, while the October sale has a great chance of getting more quality in all aspects. That's what it's been doing in the last few years and I'm keen to increase our draft numbers at it in the coming years.
An international flavor has been a key trend of the European yearling sales scene in recent years, and Arqana is no exception to that rule. Bozo is confident that buyers from around the world will make their presence felt once again.
"We hope so," he added. "I know Arqana is dynamic and doing a great job in making sure people are attending the sale. I'm confident we'll have plenty of international interest from all over the world, including England, Ireland, America, and Germany."
It would be remiss not to mention Monceaux's unbeaten graduate Diamond Necklace, an exciting winner of the Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day earlier this month. The St Mark's Basilica filly—a sale-topper of last year's August sale at €1.7 million—is yet another star out of the team's brilliant producer Prudenzia.
The Dansili mare is responsible for two further top-level winners in Magic Wand and Chicquita, as well as group winner and Prix de Diane (G1) runner-up Philomene. Her yearling filly by Night Of Thunder created headlines of her own at the August Sale this year when selling to Amo Racing for a record-breaking €3 million.
Bozo said of the Coolmore-owned filly, now among the favorites for next year's classics: "You can imagine the excitement of all the team on Arc day, she was really impressive. We've got so much of the family, and we're really proud and grateful to Prudenzia."
Prudenzia is now 20, but she delivered a colt by Siyouni this year and is in great form, according to the team that looks after her.
"She has a beautiful colt foal by Siyouni but she was due late so she got only one cover and didn't get in foal," Bozo said. "She's in great shape and we're thinking of covering her again, although we've not decided who with."
