Dawn Approach and Zelzal lots share top billing in Arqana yearling finale

A week of sales in Deauville opened on Saturday with the final batch of Flat-bred yearlings to pass through the Arqana ring in 2021.

The exploits of 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes hero Poetic Flare this season have helped push his sire Dawn Approach back into the limelight and a colt (lot 172) bred by Haras de Montaigu shared top spot when knocked down to agent Guy Petit for €30,000.

Out of Cranky Spanky - a daughter of Spectrum who was placed at Listed level in Italy - he is a half-brother to Mastercraftsman mare Dessertoflife, who won a Baden-Baden Group 3 as a juvenile for Mark Johnston.

"I really fell for the Dawn Approach, who vetted well and has a lot of strength, so I bought him on spec," said Petit. "He had a Group-winning brother in Germany and his brother in Britain [Fandabidozi] managed to win at two."

Petit was also on the mark at €30,000 for a son of Haras de Bouquetot's Zelzal, who boasted a trio of six-figure lots during Arqana's October Yearling sale and whose first crop of runners includes Zelda, a scorer at Listed level for Jean-Claude Rouget.

The colt (lot 100) was brought to market by Haras de Bourgeauville and hails from a family that has thrived in Chile, while his dam - the American Post mare Prima Porta - proved a real money-spinner both on the Flat in France and when sent jumping in Britain with Evan Williams.

The joint top lot at Saturday's Arqana November Yearling sale was a son of Zelzal presented by Haras de BourgeauvilleCredit: Haras de Bouquetot

"He's a very good-looking colt and you might regard it as a problem that he has something of a jumping pedigree," said Petit. "But if you look more deeply, all the jumps horses in the family have won on the Flat first and so I think he will be useful in that sphere, while he looks quite precocious.

"I've bought him for an Irish client and he could go into training here in France or else there's the option of sending him to a breeze-up sale, since Zelzal is working well. No decision has been made yet."

Darley will retire Victor Ludorum to Julian Ince's Haras du Logis for the 2022 breeding season and a son of the stud's Hunter's Light attracted plenty of attention among the Logis draft.

Boasting one of the most active pedigrees in the catalogue, the colt (lot 146) is out of the Clodovil mare Tequila Heat.

As well as being a full sister to Young Rascal's dam Rock My Soul, Tequila Heat is a half to Rondina, who last month finished runner-up for Waldemar Hickst in Germany’s premier juvenile race for fillies, the Preis der Winterkonigin.

And it was Deauville-based, German-born trainer Markus Nigge who struck the winning bid at €26,000.

Prospective buyers at Arqana on SaturdayCredit: Arqana

Zarak has enjoyed a fine autumn with his first crop of two-year-olds, led by the exploits of Group 1-placed fillies Times Square and Purplepay, leading to a doubling of his fee in 2022 from €12,000 to €25,000 at Haras de Bonneval.

And it was another daughter of the Aga Khan Studs' regally-bred stallion that made the early running.

John Hammond won out at €24,000 for Haras de Saint Maur's filly (lot 10) out of the Street Cry mare Fingallian, a half-sister to last year's Sun Chariot Stakes runner-up Half Light.

Trade was solid with an 80 per cent clearance rate - up from 72 per cent last November - while the median of €5,000 and the average price of €6,332 were on a par with the same day 12 months ago.

Arqana have sold a total of 1,090 yearlings during ten sessions across August, October and November in 2021 for a total of €71.4 million, compared with cumulative scores of €57.6m for the coronavirus-affected year in 2020 and €65.3m in 2019.

Three further days of selling begin at 11am local time on Monday with a session devoted to horses in training and two-year-old stores.

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