Doctor Yes: Highflyer dominates battle for coveted sons of Doctor Dino at Arqana

Every once in a while a sale falls under the spell of one particular sire or one especially determined buying team.

Tuesday at Arqana was a case of both factors at work, with Haras du Mesnil's star resident Doctor Dino accounting for seven of the top 16 lots during a session dedicated to jumps-bred yearlings. And five of those were purchased by Highflyer Bloodstock.

The two owners with the deepest pockets were Dai Walters and Pat Sexton, whose horses run under the West Coast Haulage banner, which begs the question whether the Prestbury Cup at the Cheltenham Festival might one day become a three-cornered affair, with Wales taking on the rest of Britain plus Ireland.

Three of the sire's progeny were purchased for Dai Walters, who raised his hand at €170,000 to secure the top lot of the day [lot 518], a half-brother to the top-class mare Thrilling bred by Benoit Gabeur in association with Haras des Sablonnets.

David Minton of Highflyer said: "Benoit is a good friend and one of the best breeders in France. Anthony [Bromley] bought Master Minded and Long Run through Benoit and I don't think there was a nicer horse today. Thrilling is brilliant and I'm told [his Network half-brother] Placenet is up-and-coming, so he stood out."

The colt is out of the winning Poliglote mare Lofte Place, while Minton gave a hint as to how the session would progress when speaking of the stallion.

"Dai has always wanted a good Doctor Dino, the cross works and so let's see what happens," said Minton, who added that trade at Arqana was every bit as buoyant as elsewhere in the market for National Hunt youngstock.

"I think, having seen the other sales, it's what we expected,” he said. “The point-to-point sale at Cheltenham on Friday was madness and it's rubbing off here.

"The good horses sell well. I've been coming to this sale for a million years and this is the best quality group of yearlings I've seen here."

Benoit Gabeur congratulates David Minton and Dai Walters (right) after the sale of the top lot at Arqana on TuesdayCredit: Zuzanna LUPA

The Highflyer/Walters combination also struck at €85,000 for the already-named Shannon Victor [lot565], bred by Mesnil and out of a winning Kapgarde mare from the family of four-time Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris runner-up Shannon Rock.

And a third set to carry the Walters silks, at a cost of €70,000, is a colt consigned by Haras de l'Hotellerie out of the Ballingarry mare Tornada [lot 592], a dual Listed winner at Auteuil for trainer Marcel Rolland and whose first runner, Martator, finished third in the Grade 1 Prix Renaud Vivier last Sunday.

Hotellerie also consigned a son of No Risk At All [lot 496] that fell to Minton and Walters early in the session for €77,000.

Reflecting on his buying spree, Walters said: "I watch a lot of racing and the Doctor Dinos are doing well. He's a top sire and I've bought four today, so let's hope I get a bit of luck with them.

"I've been buying yearlings here for the last seven years and we’ve bought some nice horses out of here. If you buy quality, you've got a chance."

Sexton another to fall under the Doctor Dino spell

The Highflyer team were not finished with sons of France's highest-priced jumping sire there and Anthony Bromley signed for two more on behalf of another Welsh-based owner in Sexton.

Bromley struck at €65,000 for a colt [lot 587] out of the Sholokov mare Thea, a half-sister to the classy and durable Theo Danon and from the family of Beverly D Stakes heroine Sea Calisi.

"He's been bought to race, not to turn around," said Bromley. "He'll go to Henrietta Knight to be broken and pre-trained.

"We've bought a couple of yearlings for Pat Sexton at this sale in the past that have gone on and won, but Doctor Dino is a great sire and this would be more expensive than them."

Bromley also acquired a colt [lot 615] for the same owner from the dispersal of the late Magalen Bryant's breeding stock, whose third dam produced Vol Solitaire, a Grade 2 winner over both hurdles and fences for Paul Nicholls.

Epatante relative adds to Yorton riches

The rise of Yorton Farm has been one of the stories of British National Hunt breeding over the last decade and David Futter was busy sourcing potential stock to be offered at the stud's boutique sale next autumn.

A yearling colt by No Risk At All sold to David Futter of Yorton Farm for €82,000 at Arqana on TuesdayCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

That is not the definite plan yet for the pick of three purchases on the day, an €82,000 No Risk At All colt [lot 585] out of a half-sister to 2020 Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante offered by Ecurie Cap Orne.

"He's by a good sire with a very good pedigree and he looked a horse who might have a bit of improvement in him, so there might be space to maybe spin him round," said Futter.

"We buy a lot of yearlings and time will tell but we have the option of putting him into our Yorton Sale next September. With a horse like that you've got plenty of options."

Futter added: "We've got George Stanners from Goffs UK joining us in January and we'll be doing a few different things so having a horse like that on the team is great."

The sale was a major landmark for Ecurie Cap Orne, a farm founded by former television journalist Celine Gualde, while the colt was bred by Jockey Club member Oliver Pawle out of the Lesotho mare Tante Sissi, a winner of the Listed Mares' Series Final at Newbury for Alan King and Thurloe Thoroughbreds.

Pawle has a three-year-old Kapgarde brother in training in France with Louisa Carberry called In Good Spirits.

Barbe strikes for Muhtathir colt bred on Envoi Allen cross

Caraco Piel [lot 633] was the subject of fierce exchanges as the evening drew to a close, with Hubert Barbe outlasting his rivals at €90,000 for the colt, who was brought to market by Ecurie La Frenee.

By the late Muhtathir out of a Saint Des Saints mare, he is bred on the same cross as Envoi Allen, while under his third dam he boasts the tough and talented Caid Du Berlais, as well as Clovis Du Berlais, three-time Graded-placed around Auteuil and now standing at Haras du Lion.

Ryan Mahon was another to leave it late in the day before purchasing an Authorized gelding [lot 643] consigned by Haras de l'Aumonerie for €85,000.

Out of the Monsun mare Courseulles - a dual winner on the Flat - he is a full-brother to Runrized, a winning hurdler with Willie Mullins, and Mahon confirmed he was for a consortium of Irish clients who plan to offer him for resale as a three-year-old.

Records fall during buoyant session

Turnover of €3,730,500 was the highest recorded at Arqana for a sale of National Hunt yearlings, with 134 of 169 horses sold at a clearance rate of 79 per cent and an average price of more than €27,000.

Incredibly, Doctor Dino and Authorized accounted for a third of turnover between them, while the €170,000 paid for the top lot was also an Arqana record.

The final day of selling on Wednesday is dedicated to jumps breeding stock and begins at 11am local time.

More news:

Arqana crown jewels raided by big Irish and British guns

Mehmas colt vaults to top of Goffs leaderboard as very last lot of session

Arctic Bresil runs hot at £305,000 as Cheltenham sales back with a bang

Arthur Dobell joins Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock in assistant role

'We had to have her' - filly from first crop of Audible proves hot at $360,000