Arqana has announced that its Select Yearling Sale will now take place from Tuesday 8 September to Thursday 10 September.
Originally scheduled for its usual slot of mid-August, Arqana had intended to push the sale back to September 24-26 in response to the ramifications of Covid-19. However, last week’s announcement by the British government that any person entering the UK from France would be subject to 14 days of self-isolation meant that anyone wishing to attend would then be prevented from attending both the Goffs Orby and Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sales in the following weeks.
Arqana made the decision following extensive consultation of vendors represented in the Select Sale catalogue as well as buyers potentially affected by the new constraint. The new dates will enable participants to attend all three major European sales in full respect of travelling and sanitary regulations.
Arqana CEO Eric Hoyeau and Executive Director Freddy Powell commented: “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. 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.
“Arqana will charter private flights from several locations in order to make the trip to Deauville as quick and secure as possible. We are also working day in day out to make remote participation easy. Online bidding will be available via Arqanaonline.com, while all yearlings are currently being filmed on the farms. Videos will be visible on our website, allowing buyers wherever they are to get a foretaste of the extraordinary collection of colts and fillies on offer.”