It didn’t take long for the million-euro mark to be breached at the first European yearling sale of the season when the hammer came down on lot 49, a daughter of Galileo out of the Dansili mare Prudenzia, who was sold for €1.1 million to Agence FIPS on behalf of the Marquesa de Moratalla.
The Gaileo filly out of Prudenzia sold for €1.1 million
The filly from the family of Alexandrova and Magical Romance was consigned by Henri Bozo’s Ecurie des Monceaux, which also struck lucky at Arqana’s August Sale last year with two members of the same family – Pruenzia’s Montjeu filly sold for €600,000 to Paul Makin, while a Dansili half-sister to Prudenzia made €500,000.
A new face in Deauville this year was that of Jehan Malherbe representing South African-based Form Bloodstock. Buying for Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Malherbe was the successful bidder on a Dubawi colt out of Marine Bleue at €450,000. The sheikh has enjoyed success this season with Dubawi’s son Mickdaam, winner of the Group 3 Chester Vase in May and this colt will also be trained in England.
Form Bloodstock signed for three lots in total at the opening session, the other two both bought for Mary Slack of Wilgerbosdrift Stud. Malherbe went to €180,000 for a half-sister to Listed winner Alsace Lorraine by Australia’s champion sire Fastnet Rock, and €100,000 for a Danehill Dancer colt from the family of Oratorio, who has recently been sold by Coolmore to stand at Avontuur Stud in South Africa.
The septet of Sea The Stars yearlings has been eagerly anticipated at Arqana and highest-priced of the first-crop yearlings was the half-sister to the five-time Group 1 winner Canford Cliffs. The filly, consigned by Ballylinch Stud on behalf of SF Bloodstock, made €360,000 when selling to Emmanuel de Seroux of Narvick International.
A Galileo colt out of Giant’s Causeway’s Grade 2 winner Naissance Royale could be heading into training in Russia having been bought by Alexander Nezhenets through Grant Pritchard-Gordon of Badgers Bloodstock for €350,000.
Newsells Park Stud has consistently been the leading overseas consigner at Arqana’s August Sale in recent years and the operation enjoyed another successful opening day, selling a Medicean colt with a strong French page – he is from the family of Prix Saint-Alary winner Sagawara and Arc winner Sagamix – for €320,000. The stud’s five yearlings sold on Saturday achieved an average of €176,000, sealing an excellent few hours for Newsells Park in which its first-crop sire Mount Nelson notched his first Group winner when Purr Along won the Prix du Calvados just several hundred metres away at Deauville’s La Touques racecourse.
Achieving a clearance rate of 47% for the first of two select sessions, the average increased by more than 8% on the equivalent day last year to €144,746 while the median fell to €95,000 (from €120,000). The aggregate, including three private sales, reached €9,324,000. The sale continues at 5pm local time (4pm BST) on Sunday.
