All change... again

Late changes

The Arqana Select Sale moves forward to September 9-11 in response to the British government’s quarantine rulings for travellers from France. We chat to three European auction house directors regarding their upcoming yearling sales

IT HAS BEEN THE YEAR OF bloodstock disruption. Despite plans for the yearling sales dates seemingly sorted by the end of the spring and an across-Europe plan to co-ordinate this autumn’s sale schedules, through August change was in the air again. This was due to UK government quarantine rulings for travellers from France and Irish government restrictions amid fears of increased numbers of COVID-19 cases.

In response, the Arqana Select Sale has moved forward from its original rearranged date of September 26-28 to September 9-11.

As we went to press, also under possible discussion was the location of the Goffs Orby Sale, which could be staged in Britain at the organisation’s Goffs UK Doncaster ground instead of Naas in Ireland. Further, the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale was also being touted as a candidate to emigrate to the UK, with the possibility of moving to Park Paddocks in Newmarket.

“We are all competitors on a day-to-day basis, and want to see success for our countries... but we are competitors, not enemies

One thing that this disruptive period has shown us is that this industry can adapt, work together and is prepared to look at all options to ensure that it can carry on trading, rolling forward and maintaining cash flows.

Freddy Powell, Arqana’s executive director says: “We are all competitors on a day-today basis, and want to see success for horses produced in our own countries, but we are competitors, not enemies.”

In the spring, Arqana’s Select Sale made its first move, from its usual August date to late September. This was under the advice of the local officials, who were aware that holding a horse sale in Deauville on a bank holiday slot was going to add numbers of people to the town it would rather not have in the current circumstances.

The date of September 24 was chosen for logistical international bloodstock industry reasons, particularly important for a sale that has in recent years focused on developing its global appeal.

“We talked with the other sale companies in Europe and thought that, if international people can journey, travelling only once to Europe for yearling sales would make much sense,” says Powell.

“We felt that the international buyers could finish with the first week of Keeneland, they could travel then to Arqana, onto Goffs, Arc weekend, Book 1 and Book 2 in one go rather than go back and forth as they usually do.”

August has seen those well thought-out cross-sale plans disrupted again, but Arqana has been prepared, as much as it could in the circumstances of COVID-19.

The company reacted positively to help those international buyers with their autumn travel plans and the sale is now to start on September 9.

“The catalogue for the Select Sale is of outstanding quality and we are committed to providing these exceptional young horses with the best possible marketplace,” said Powell.

“This requires holding the sale at a time that maximises the chances for French and international buyers to be on attendance in Deauville.

“We wish to pay tribute to the reactivity and adaptability of all our vendors, who have immediately thrown their support behind this unusual change.”

For those unable to travel, the online bidding platform is set up and was used for the first time as far back as last year for a showjumping sale, while Arqana is helping its consignors with pre-sale marketing as much as it possibly can.

“For the Select Sale we started filming the horses on farms in August, every single horse will have their conformation taken, some will have it done twice, if the vendor wants it,” outlines Powell. “We had agents travelling through Normandy looking at yearlings in good time.

“Further, if anyone wants assistance we are very happy to help, we have young people in the office happy to drive around Normandy to look at horses under the correct protocols.

“We also recommended that vendors started their prep early so that horses were ready to be seen for people who were on the tour around the farms between the Marois and the Morny.”

Arqana’s executive director, Freddy Powell

For those who are able to get to Normandy and to the sales ground, the Arqana office will help with accommodation plans, while it is also considering chartering flights direct to Deauville reducing the need to travel through the busy hubs at Paris.

As for the catalogue itself, Powell is delighted with how it has come together, despite the difficulties endured during the spring when inspections were undertaken and sales plans were being made.

“We are delighted and it actually features the best of August and October in the same catalogue.

“When we printed, a lot of people came back to us and said actually in France you have such a high number of high-class pedigrees!” smiles Powell.

“On that front it was positive, but putting the catalogue together was a little frantic.

“Though it had the merit of keeping us busy through lockdown, trying to see the horses, find the dates; everything was difficult.

“But we got there, and it was thanks to our team who is dedicated and were very focused when obviously things were not easy at home – many have young families and were home schooling. It was all a bit crazy, but everyone found the time and managed to see the horses.”

CORONVIRUS OR NOT, August Sale or September Sale, an internationally themed catalogue is once again evident.

“The catalogue has very strong appeal to anyone in the world, we have brothers and sisters to horses who have won in Japan, the US, Australia and Dubai and by international sires,” recalls Powell. “I think Haras de Monceaux, which has been leading vendor at the August

Sale for years, has the best bunch of horses it has ever had and includes the likes of the Dubawi half-sister to

Sistercharlie and Sottsass, the first foal out of Golden Valentine by Galileo and a beautiful Galileo colt from family of Magic Wand and English King. They have proper, proper horses.

“Etreham also has a strong bunch, Alamanzor has some really lovely first yearlings, and Haras de la Perelle has a beautiful Galileo filly.

“Saint Pair is also back with strength. Andreas Putsch always believes the August

Sale is little too early for his horses, so he is supporting this sale with a lovely bunch of fillies; we are very grateful for his support.

“And, of course, John O’Connor of Ballylinch Stud, has a very strong draft, including the Frankel half-brother to Al Wukair, and the Lope De Vega’s half-sister to See The Rose, who could be very best two-year-old in France. She has been very impressive and we sold her last year for John, who had bought the dam carrying her at our December Sale.”

The sale is to take place on three days with the first two days due to start at 2pm and with 130 lots catalogued each day. The sale is graded and the third day, kicking off at 11am, is described by Powell as more typical of a “usual Deauville third day”.

Goffs UK managing director, Tim Kent

THE DONCASTER PREMIER SALE has had just the one slight date adjustment, moving back from its usual August slot to September 1-2.

Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent is another to press home how vital it has been for the sale companies to remain open to all eventualities, and to work closely with the local authorities and government guidelines.

“I think we have all shown huge flexibility, we have worked with Arqana and Tattersalls to facilitate sales, it shows how flexible we are all being in 2020 and we’ve all got to take that attitude,” says Kent. “The reality is anything could change right up to day of the sale.

“We have just got to take a day at a time. We have looked at a different number of scenarios, but it is difficult to plan when you don’t know what you are planning for. So we have considered every eventuality; then we can try and deal with it the way we would want.

“I have been keeping in touch with the local officials. At the moment Doncaster seems fairly safe – other towns in Yorkshire are different – but touch wood at the moment things are as they should be, let’s hope that continues.”

The company’s online platform was used by over 75 bidders at the spring’s breeze-up sale and 30 or so at the Summer Sale and will be open again for the yearlings. As with Arqana, the company is offering further help to those unable to travel.

“The online bidding has worked really well. It is Micheal Orton’s baby, he understands it better than anyone, but we went through so many rounds of testing before the sales and other than one small glitch that we couldn’t have predicted, it’s worked well,” smiles Kent.

“It has been embraced by a broad range of buyers, both overseas and domestic. People can register to bid online and we get an automatic email. We can then put interested buyers in touch with an agent or anyone willing to help on day or lead-up to sale if they are unable to attend in person.”

In a normal year it would have to suspected that Kent would have been reasonably confident going into his first Premier Sale at the helm, happy with this year’s racecourse performances of the sale graduates and the catalogue that his team has put together.

“We have had an outstanding year on the track, especially with the two-year-olds as we have had eight stakes winners already, it is one of best years on the racecourse,” he smiles ruefully. “We spoke to a couple of Australian buyers through Tony Williams [former managing director] about coming over this year as they had seen the wonderful results we have had on the track. Sadly, they can’t even leave their state let alone their country! It is a shame we are in this scenario on the back of the year we have had.

“The graduates this year are headed up by the likes of the The Lir Jet, Supremacy, Method. The last time I checked we had four of the top eight two-year-olds on Timeform ratings, all bought for a range of prices. “It is exciting that loyal clients keep coming back and get more success from this sale and we always work to show new buyers what they can find in Doncaster”

For this year, the pedigrees are probably led by the Starspangledbanner half-brother to Ventura Tormenta (Lot 313), the Cotai Glory half-sister to A’Ali (Lot 322) and the Dark Angel full-brother to the Group 3 winner Yafta (Lot 423). Kent adds: “We are always having in-house debates as to what is going to top the sale! On pedigree those are some may stand out, but we have some cracking individuals and it is always those that sell best with us and prove themselves on the racecourse.

“All my colleagues have horses in the catalogue they are very bullish about – lovely horses by proper stallions. “That is what our sale is all about – a proper racehorse by a proven stallion and that is all you need.

“It is a lovely problem to have, arguing over what is going to top the sale at this stage. Let’s hope everything that we have high hopes for can do the job.”

As to judging whether the sale itself has “done its job”, come September 3, Kent will not necessarily be looking at the usual metrics of turnover, average and medians. “The most important aspect this year will be clearance rate,” he explains.

“On top of that a healthy and sustainable trade from start to finish, obviously looking for a few highlights between.

“We won’t be expecting fireworks or record breakers, it would be naive to think we’ll be in that scenario.

“No one will be in that situation this year. Clearance rate will be the barometer and a healthy trade over two days.”

BBAG Yearling Sale: “feels the right decision”

LAST YEAR’S BBAG Yearling Sale enjoyed enormous success, smashing its top-price record and posting an increase of almost half in the average.

Fast forward 12 months and Germany, like the rest of the world, is dealing with a pandemic that has created unprecedented upheaval in life. Many bloodstock auction houses have been forced to reschedule their sales or create new ones, but as managing director Klaus Eulenberger explains, BBAG has stuck with their original schedule.

“It wasn’t really a difficult decision, our aim was to clarify the situation as early as we could and keeping to the original date meant everyone could plan accordingly. Three weeks out from the sale it still feels the right decision, but it is getting tricky right now to travel in Europe with restrictions introduced.”

The BBAG-chartered flight from Doncaster to Baden-Baden will take to the skies again this year, adhering to social distancing guidelines.

There will be changes, as is the case with so much of life this year; there are local government regulations that have to be followed which allow for service suppliers such a vet and transport companies to be on site and 500 potential buyers will be able to attend.

Everyone who wishes to attend must be accredited and the forms are available on BBAG’s website.

Baden-Baden’s traditional party will be missing, as will the tourists and visitors who mingle at the unique European yearling sale, but what remains is a strong catalogue of high-class yearlings.

“The catalogue has lots of nice fillies and fillies from this sale have won Group 1 races this year – Miss Yoda won the Preis der Diana (G1) and Donjah led home a onetwo for German horses in the Preis von Europa (G1), important for German breeding,” he adds.

It was also important for the yearling Outstrip half-sister to Donjah. Named Damascene Blade, she is to be consigned at the sale by breeder Gestüt Karlshof (Lot 184).

Two more fillies with stand-out pedigrees that would adorn any sale catalogue are Gestüt Goersdorf’s Sea The Stars full-sister to champion and Group 1 sire Sea The Moon (Lot 61), and the Dubawi half-sister to champions Windstoss and Weltstar from Gestüt Röttgen (Lot 78).

“Sea The Sky is a lovely filly and I was very impressed with her when I went to see her in June,” comments Eulenberger. “It has been a number of years since we had a Dubawi yearling in the sale and this one is a very nice and athletic filly.”

Eulenberger also points to daughters of Lope De Vega as potential star lots.

Ronald Rauscher consigns a filly out of the Listed-winning Galileo mare Promesse de l’Aube (Lot 49).

All the dam’s runners are winners and is a daughter of the Group 3 Prix Miesque winner and Group 1 Preis der Diana second White Rose.

The second daughter of Ballylinch Stud’s leading sire is Lot 183 from Gestüt Röttgen. She is a half-sister to Group 3 winner and Group 2-placed Degas from the family of Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.

First-season sires are strongly represented and Gestüt Paschberg’s sends a colt by champion Churchill (Lot 50).

Half-sister to A’Ali: a “lovely quality filly”

SALCEY FOREST STUD offers the strongest collection of yearlings in its history at this year’s sales, according to Daniel Creighton one half of the team behind the operation, alongside Josh Schwartz.

“I am very pleased with our yearling draft, we have a very nice Bungle Inthejungle colt (Lot 265) and a lovely Kodiac filly (Lot 52) going to Doncaster.

“Away from them, we have some really nice Pearl Secret yearlings, too, so there is a horse to suit everyone.”

The diamond amongst their jewels is the Premier Sale’s Lot 322, a half- sister to the high-class sprinter A’Ali from the first crop of Group 3 Molecomb Stakes winner and King’s Stand (G1) runner-up Cotai Glory.

“She is the only filly out of the mare, who we sadly lost to colic, so this is the only chance for the line to continue,” said Creighton.

“She is a lovely quality filly, who is really strong and I imagine she will stand out. She is a very fast-looking horse and a very good mover, who covers lots of ground on the lunge. She screams Royal Ascot to me.”

It’s unsurprising that the grand-daughter of Exceed And Excel should be thought of in those terms – her three-year-old Society Rock half-brother won the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at last year’s Royal meeting and her sire was just touched off in the King’s Stand Stakes (G1) when third to Marsha and Lady Aurelia in the Nunthorpe Stakes (G1).

“I like Cotai Glory and I think that this filly is a really good advert for the sire,” he added.

This filly is also a close relation to a winner by Kodiac and out of a Motivator mare, so bred on a similar cross to the Group 1 National Stakes third Lockheed who is by Exceed And Excel.

Her dam is a half-sister to the Group 3 Darley Stakes winner and twice Group 1-placed Efisio colt Enforcer and the third dam Willowy Wood was a multiple Grade 3 winner in North America, who was also placed in the Grade 1 Mother Goose Stakes.