‘We’re trying to create a dynasty’ – Amo Racing smash Arqana record with €3,000,000 Night Of Thunder filly
Amo Racing smashed the Arqana August Yearling Sale record when Kia Joorabchian bid €3,000,000 (approx. AU$5.4 million) to secure the Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) filly out of Ecurie des Monceaux’s blue hen Prudenzia (Dansili) midway through Monday’s final session in Deauville.
The bidding blasted into seven-figure territory in the blink of an eye, with Joorabchian, standing with Amo’s bloodstock agent Alex Elliott, personally lodging a string of rapid-fire increases. The blue-blooded filly was bred by Monceaux and the late Lady O’Reilly, and farm director Henri Bozo sought to buy out his fellow shareholders by joining in the bidding.
There was a remarkable rally of €100,000 (approx. AU$180,020) raises that moved the price from €2 million (approx. AU$3.6 million) to €2.7 million (approx. AU$4.86 million) in a mere matter of seconds. However, proceedings came to a dramatic conclusion when Joorabchian delivered the decisive nod of the head that took the filly’s value from €2.8 million (approx. AU$5.04 million) to €3 million in one fell swoop.
That price comfortably eclipses the previous August Sale record, which was set in 2019 when John Ferguson paid €2.6 million for this filly’s near relation Parabellum (Dubawi).
“She’s actually priceless,” said Elliott after Joorabchian had exited stage left. “For somebody like Kia, we’re trying to create a dynasty and you’ve got to start with those sorts of horses. She’s a collectors’ item. It’s a well-used term but she is, so we’re very happy.”
Elliott added: “She’s got a great body for a filly out of a mare of that age. Sometimes things start to tail off a little bit but her sister [Diamond Necklace] was very impressive when she won the other day so the mare’s still doing it. We’ve bought into one of the greatest families there is. She doesn’t take any explaining.”
Prudenzia has developed into one of the most high-achieving broodmares of the modern era. Her nine winners include five black-type performers, most notably enigmatic Irish Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) heroine Chicquita (Montjeu) and her three-parts sister Magic Wand (Galileo), who also struck at the highest level in the Mackinnon Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) in Australia. Another daughter, Philomene (Dubawi), won the Prix Penelope (Gr 3, 2100m) and was runner-up in the Prix de Diane (Gr 1, 2100m).
There could well be more black type in the offing too as the latest cab off the rank, last year’s €1.7 million August Sale topper Diamond Necklace (St Mark’s Basilica), showed she has inherited plenty of the family’s talent when making an impressive winning debut at the Curragh for the Coolmore partners. The mare has a Siyouni (Pivotal) colt foal on the ground and visited Zarak (Dubawi) for her most recent covering.
Prudenzia’s stock have now generated a staggering €14.895 million in Arqana August Sale receipts. That figure does not include the €6 million Coolmore paid for Chicquita at Goffs in November 2013, setting an Irish public auction record in the process.
Despite the sky-high price, Bozo admitted to feeling some mixed emotions after filling the role of underbidder.
“Of course there’s a lot of pride,” he said. “In the case of this filly it’s a bit special because that’s all our professional life’s work. We’re in partnership with Lady O’Reilly’s brother [Petros Goulandris] but I wanted to try to buy a share for Ecurie des Monceaux.
“I really wanted to keep her and I thought I would get her. It’s mixed emotions because I’m so attached to this family. There’s still plenty to come and I’m very grateful for the trust from Amo Racing. I hope they win the Oaks with her.”
The record-busting purchase was Amo’s first of the sale, and was swiftly followed by a €850,000 (approx. AU$1.53 million) son of Lope De Vega (Shamardal) from Haras du Cadran and a €900,000 (approx. AU$1.62 million) Night Of Thunder half-sister to Listed winner Safia (Sottsass) from Haras d’Etreham. All told the operation’s four Deauville purchases cost €4.95 million (approx. AU$8.91 million).
“It’s a very strong market and we’ve hit our head against the wall a lot,” said Elliott. “We ran into Coolmore last night on the [€2.3m] Wootton Bassett. We ran into them again today on the [€1.2m] Camelot. The first two days were lighter on horses than today, but we’re trying to buy the best there is and Arqana have put a lot of nice horses together.”
Godolphin go gangbusters
There was no sense of buyers easing themselves into a new week on Monday morning, with six seven-figure lots coming in rapid succession. Leading the way early was the Frankel (Galileo) colt out of a half-sister to Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) hero Wings Of Eagles (Pour Moi) who brought a final play of €2.25 million (approx. AU$4.05 million).
As the bidding gathered pace it seemed like an old fashioned duel between Coolmore and Godolphin was breaking out, but, with the €2 million mark approaching, Juddmonte joined the fray via a surreptitious shake of the catalogue from general manager Simon Mockridge.
There was no let-up in momentum until the €2 million mark was in the rearview mirror. The gavel was mere milliseconds away from falling when Ed Sackville, standing at the back of the gangway with Simon Sadler, owner of Noble Champion (Lope De Vega) and Ten Bob Tony (Night Of Thunder), gestured animatedly in the bid spotter’s direction.
That move took the bid board to €2.2 million (approx. AU$3.96 million), but when Stroud struck another €50,000 (approx. AU$90,010) raise Sackville gave a defeated shake of the head and walked away.
“He’s a very easy-moving horse with very good conformation,” said the Godolphin talent spotter. “Obviously he’s by Frankel and out of a Siyouni mare, which is a good cross. He was one of our picks of the day, all of us, Charlie Appleby and David Loder.”
Asked about the team’s aspirations for the colt, Stroud said: “We’re all dreaming about races like the Derby and the Arc, that’s why the boss does it. We’re trying to get to that level and win those races.”
The agent also revealed he had accepted a lift from Sadler the previous day, saying: “I didn’t realise I’d be bidding against him quite so early in the morning!”
The strapping colt was bred and sold by Haras de Montaigu, whose director Aliette Forien said: “We’ve sold a yearling for a million before but this is a first. We’ve felt since the colt was on the grounds that there was a lot of attention, he’s had a lot of viewings and a lot of vetting and the big buyers have all shown a lot of interest. We hoped he might make a million and this is just ‘formidable’.”
The dam, Orendina (Siyouni), won two races and rounded out her racing career with victory in the Prix Ceres (Listed, 1400m). She is one of five black-type horses out of Ysoldina (Kendor), who not only bred the Derby hero Wings Of Eagles but also the Group 2-placed Sparkle Roll (Kingman) and the Listed runner-up Torentosa (Oasis Dream).
On the decision to send Orendina to Frankel for her second cover, Forien said: “Yes, it’s a lot of money [£275,000] but we’ve been very well compensated and it’s wonderful. At home we have two of Ysoldina’s sisters and five mares from the family altogether, one which has given us so much already.
“We started with the great granddam, who Gilles [Forien] bought for what now looks a bargain, not more than €20,000, and they just keep producing Group horses. The mare is young and she’s a Listed winner and it’s great the colt has gone to a very good trainer. She is carrying to Kingman but doesn’t have a foal.”
Stroud added: “The horses today are strong, there are a number that should sell very well. It’s the strongest day.”
That point was brought into sharp relief just a few moments later when Godolphin saw off the Al Shira’aa team to secure the Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) filly out of Paix (Muhaarar) from Ecurie des Monceaux.
Paix rates one of the more recent additions to the Monceaux herd, although she has wasted no time establishing herself as a most promising producer. Her first foal is Parachutiste (Dubawi), who added an important update to the pedigree by winning the Grand Prix de Clairefontaine (Listed, 2400m) just three days prior to Monday’s session.
That filly’s younger three-parts sister is Skydance (Night Of Thunder), who has also done her bit to enhance the page having finished third in the Airlie Stud Stakes (Gr 2, 6f) and second in the Silver Flash Stakes (Gr 3, 7.5f) on her last two starts for Willie McCreery. The daughter of Night Of Thunder was a €1,000,000 signing by Al Shira’aa Racing at last year’s August Sale.
“Dubawi has been an unbelievable stallion for our organisation,” Stroud said. “The dam is doing it, she’s produced two stakes horses already. We’re very lucky to have her, especially coming from a nursery like Monceaux. We had Philomene [under the third dam] together. Getting back into a family like this is fantastic, it’s what you want. There aren’t many fillies like this that come up for sale.”
Asked if there was a particular type of Dubawi filly he targeted at the sales, Stroud gave a wry smile and said: “Ones with lovely pedigrees that look like Juliette Binoche!”
Paix, a homebred for Monceaux and the late Lady O’Reilly, possessed plenty of talent herself, with her three victories including the Prix de Lutece (Gr 3, 3000m). She hails from Monceaux’s foundation family being out of Pacifique (Montjeu), another Prix de Lutece winner who in turn is out of foundation mare Platonic (Zafonic), making her a sibling to the blue hen Prudenzia.
Paix delivered a colt by Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) in May this year and returned to Night Of Thunder for a repeat of the mating that produced Skydance.
Coolmore collect classy Camelot colt
Coolmore added to their Deauville haul when going to €1.2 million (approx. AU$2.16 million) for a Camelot (Montjeu) colt from Haras de la Perelle. The youngster is closely related to Prix Corrida (Gr 2, 2100m) scorer Pensee Du Jour, who is also by Camelot and is a half-sister to this colt’s dam, the winning Lope De Vega mare Peinture Secrete.
Pensee Du Jour and Peinture Secrete are out of Painter’s Pride (Dansili), a half-sister to the Wildensteins’ Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) hero Peintre Celebre (Nureyev).
“He’s a lovely horse and it seems like Camelot does pretty well with mares from the Giant’s Causeway line,” said MV Magnier. “He’s having a very good year again this year and we have a couple of very good two-year-olds by him in Ballydoyle. Godolphin ran a good horse by him there the other day too [Del Maro], so the stallion’s flying. He’s very capable of getting a good horse so let’s hope this fella is one of them.”
The colt supplied Perelle with an immediate return on investment as he is the first foal since the mare was purchased through Chantilly Bloodstock Agency for 600,000gns at Tattersalls in 2023.
“It feels amazing,” said farm manager William Rimaud. “We always knew he was nice and thought he would do well but, man, this is the top price for me and it just feels good. It feels like the job was well done and hopefully the horse will do great. There’s no reason he won’t. It’s definitely my best day in the game – by far. We will try to have more of these days in the future, for sure.”
The colt became the joint second-highest priced yearling by Camelot, equalling the price Magnier paid for Luxembourg’s brother Hiawatha at Goffs in 2021. The most expensive yearling by the Coolmore resident sold at Book 1 last year, where Amo Racing purchased a filly out of a half-sister to Luxembourg at 2,900,000gns. She has been named Maldives and is in training at Freemason Lodge with Kevin Philippart de Foy.
Al Shira’aa add Wootton Bassett filly
The €1.2 million mark was hit again later in the session when Al Shira’aa Racing landed the Wootton Bassett filly out of Right Hand (Lope De Vega) offered by Monceaux. The youngster is a half-sister to Audubon Park, the daughter of Dubawi who won the Prix Rose de Mai (Listed, 2000m) earlier this year and was last seen finishing runner-up to Gezora (Almanzor) in the Prix Saint-Alary (Gr 2, 2000m).
“Wootton Bassett is the best sire in the world at the moment, he’s on a roll and she’s from a family we love with Rumi down at the bottom of the page,” said Kieran Lalor. “She’s a real Classic-looking filly and we’re very excited to have her. Hopefully our luck continues with Monceaux.
“She was one on our shortlist today. We tried on the Dubawi filly [out of Paix] and the Zarak half-sister to Vespertilio earlier. They obviously made plenty of money and we’re delighted for them. This is only the mare’s third foal so there’s plenty to come. She’s from a really great Wertheimer family so we’re very excited.”
Right Hand is a half-sister to four black-type performers, including Prix Vermeille (Gr 1, 2400m) heroine Left Hand (Dubawi) and the dual Group 2 scorer Aventure (Sea The Stars), who also finished second in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Gr 1, 2400m) won by Calandagan (Gleneagles) last time out. Another sibling, Listed winner Bilissie (Dansili), is the dam of Prix du Jockey Club (Gr 1, 2100m) runner-up First Look (Lope De Vega), who was last seen outbattling Goliath (Adlerflug) in the Prix Gontaut-Biron (Gr 3, 2000m) at Deauville on Saturday.
“This is a family that keeps on giving back,” Lalor added. “Every week there’s updates.”
One more millionaire
Another Monceaux millionaire arrived when One Agency signed at €1.1 million (approx. AU$1.98 million) for the three-parts sister to Vespertilio (Night Of Thunder). The daughter of Zarak is out of Prudente, a Dansili (Danehill) sister to Prudenzia, dam of the day’s sale-topper.
“She’s for Lordship Stud and she’s going to go to Francis Graffard,” said Lordship’s Tom Harris. “It’s an amazing family, beautifully cultivated by our good friend Henri Bozo. Over time we’ve been looking to buy something from this family and we loved this filly. We’re delighted to get her. We’ve been partners with Monceaux for many years, they do a fantastic job.
“Henri always brings a fantastic draft of horses, the fillies particularly. She’s out of a youngish mare and there are some nice fillies to follow, with a foal by Night Of Thunder, and she’s carrying to Night Of Thunder so she’ll continue to be bred to the top stallions. Hopefully she can be another French-based foundation mare for us. Zarak is a fantastic stallion, one of the best in Europe.”
Records set across the board as ‘exceptional’ Arqana spending reaches an unprecedented €57.8 million
A record-breaking renewal of the Arqana August Yearling Sale concluded on Monday with new high marks posted across a range of key market indicators. The intensity of trade increased as the three sessions went on, culminating with Monday’s high octane finale.
Underpinned by a series of clashes involving racing’s superpowers, both new and established, turnover for the three days hit an unprecedented €57,847,000 (approx. AU$104.13 million), which is up 18 per cent year-on-year and five per cent higher than the previous high mark set in 2023. This was achieved despite Arqana presenting a streamlined catalogue this time around.
The average price was also a clear record at €266,576 (approx. AU$479,880), a 23 per cent increase compared to 12 months ago. The median was €170,000 (approx. AU$306,020), a 21 per cent gain on last year and back in line with the previous benchmark set in 2023. The clearance rate was a solid 80 per cent as 217 lots sold from 272 offered.
While there was plenty of talk about new investors ahead of the sale, the buyers’ table was led by a couple of very familiar names. Godolphin were comfortably the leading spender, with eight yearlings purchased for €8,050,000 (approx. AU$14.49 million). The group was headed by the Frankel colt out of Orendina from Haras de Montaigu who fetched €2.25 million on Monday.
The name of Coolmore’s MV Magnier appeared beside six purchases that cost a combined €4.99 million (approx. AU$8.98 million), including the Wootton Bassett colt who topped day two when signed for alongside White Birch Farm at €2.3 million. That tally was just ahead of Amo Racing, whose four-strong haul brought receipts totalling €4.95 million.
The lion’s share of Kia Joorabchian’s spend went on the Night Of Thunder filly out of Prudenzia, who became the most expensive yearling in August Sale history.
Arqana president Olivier Delloye emphasised the diversity among those responsible for driving the record-breaking trade.
He said: “It’s been an exceptional sale, one which we went into with a slightly slimmed-down catalogue compared to previous years. We broke records on all fronts, with overall turnover only just shy of €60 million, with perhaps a couple of deals outside the ring to come. We had a new record top price, a new record for the number of millionaires and four that went at or above €2 million.
“There was a real spread of buyers, with 15 or so different entities buying in the €500,000 plus bracket, and that was without Al Shaqab and John Stewart. We saw investors who came here with major budgets and who found themselves beaten again and again, but who still came back strong on the final day.
“It was pretty even at the top of the market between colts and fillies. We always see strong results for the best-bred fillies and that is maybe where Deauville’s reputation lies traditionally, but there was plenty of demand for the good colts as well.”
Ecurie des Monceaux retained its status as the August Sale’s leading vendor, with 36 members of the farm’s draft selling for a cumulative €17.455 million (approx. AU$31.42 million). That means the operation was responsible for 30 per cent of sale turnover from 17 per cent of sold lots.
Monceaux, who sold four seven-figure yearlings, including the record-breaking €3 million Night Of Thunder filly, has been the leading seller in Deauville for the last 14 years.
Haras des Capucines, which enjoyed its biggest ever result when selling day two’s top lot for €2.3 million, was next best with 34 lots sold for a combined €6.217 million (approx. AU$11.19 million), while Haras d’Etreham moved on 15 yearlings for €4.065 million (approx. AU$7.31 million).
Delloye added: “The greatest causes for satisfaction were the real diversity of vendors who achieved really big results; there were five different sellers at €1m plus, and 11 farms that sold one or more horses for €500,000 plus.
“Obviously we had the very big studs who regularly top the charts such as Monceaux, Etreham and Capucines, but there were others like Saint-Vincent, Beaufay and Cadran who really shone. That’s the result of major investment by French breeders in their stock and also in seeking out the best stallions.”
Wootton Bassett supplied three of the top ten lots and duly finished as the sale’s highest grossing sire, with 21 lots generating €6.595 million (approx. AU$11.87 million) of spending at an average price of €314,050 (approx. AU$565,340). His current yearling crop, his third since he made the switch from Etreham to Coolmore, was bred at a fee of €150,000.
The highest average price belonged, somewhat unsurprisingly, to Night Of Thunder. Darley’s Kildangan Stud resident had five lots sell for an average of €612,000 (approx. AU$1.1 million) and a combined €3.06 million (approx. AU$5.5 million). His current crop of yearlings are his first bred at a fee of €100,000. The quintet were headed by the €3 million filly out of Prudenzia.