Ma Filleule and Gitane Du Berlais top the bill at Munir and Souede dispersal

Big things were expected in Deauville on Tuesday, as highflying owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede dispersed their blue-chip broodmare band during the fourth and final session of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale.

The draft included grand dames of the jumps scene such as Ma Filleule and Gitane Du Berlais, and that pair duly shared the limelight when bringing €220,000 apiece.

Following a quieter penultimate session, there was a discernible buzz around the sales ground on Tuesday, as industry insiders and interested onlookers gathered around the parade ring to speculate as to who would by what and for how much, while sipping coffee or mulled wine from cups bearing the familiar two-tone green silks of Munir and Souede.

View full Arqana Breeding Stock Sale results and stats

The auditorium filled as the crowd followed the opening lot from the draft - Buck's Babe, a half-sister to Big Buck's - into the Deauville ring. However, the daughter of Nickname, who sold to Guy Petit for €70,000, was just the warm up act for the first of the co-headliners, as she was swiftly followed by the instantly recognisable grey Ma Filleule.

Even auctioneer Ludovic Cornuel seemed caught off guard when Rathmore Stud's Peter Molony, standing ringside sporting a Roaring Lion cap, threw in an opening bid of €100,000.

For a brief moment it looked as though Molony's ploy had worked, but that six-figure opening play was followed by a rapid-fire round of raises, until Richard Aston, standing at the bottom of the stairs by the rostrum, brought the hammer down at €220,000.

"We've admired her for five or six years and never thought that we'd have the opportunity to own her," said Aston, who signed on behalf of Whitley Stud's Dominic Burke.

"But when the opportunity arose we dug deep and bought her. It's a project as we want to try and breed something of her looks and ability; it's not a commercial proposition, she's going to breed racehorses, we hope."

Richard Aston: 'We saw her at Cheltenham and Aintree and watched her a lot from the other side of the rail'Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

Ma Filleule retired from racing having won eight races, including the Grade 2 OLBG.com Mares' Hurdle. Arguably her finest hour came when she won the 2014 Topham Chase following a bold round of jumping that will live long in the memory. She delivered her first foal, a colt by Martaline, earlier this year.

"Opportunities to buy racemares with pedigree, her level of ability and those looks are a real rarity," added Aston. "We saw her at Cheltenham and Aintree and watched her a lot from the other side of the rail."

Aston, who will take Ma Filleule back to Goldford Stud in Cheshire, said he was yet to finalise who the daughter of Turgeon will be mated with.

"I've thought about it a lot, but at the moment I haven't decided which stallion she'll go to next, " he said when asked about mating plans. "The first thing was to buy her. She's beautiful, she's a queen."

Second time lucky for Molony

Just two lots later Molony again tried the king bid tactic, and while an opening offer of €100,000 was quickly blown out of the water, he showed perseverance to prevail at €220,000. Gitane Du Berlais, a daughter of Balko offered in foal to Martaline, won seven of her starts, most notably the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase while under the care of Willie Mullins.

"I've been here for three days and wanted to get her or Ma Filleule, they were the two girls I was here for as these kind of mares don't normally come on the market, so you have to take the opportunities when they come along," said Molony.

"I underbid the other one but I'm delighted to have got her."

Gitane Du Berlais: the Grade 1 winner was sold for €220,000Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

Gitane Du Berlais is not the only member of her family to sell for a six-figure sum in recent weeks, as her dam is a half-sister to Baraka Du Berlais, who in turn is the dam of Let's Dance, a €200,000 purchase by Bertrand Le Metayer at the Tattersalls Ireland November Sale.

The family was also in the headlines earlier in the year when Gitane Du Berlais' half-sister Tzigane Du Berlais landed the Velka Pardubicka.

"She's been bought for a client who plans to breed to race," said Molony. "We've haven't thought as far ahead as mating plans just yet, the next stage will be to get her back to the UK."

When asked if he expected his punchy opening bids to yield better results Molony, sporting a broad grin, said: "No chance! I just didn't think there was much point hanging around at €20,000 and €30,000."

Peter Molony: 'I underbid the other one but I'm delighted to have got her'Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

The other six-figure lot from the dispersal of Munir and Souede's breeding stock was Grade 1 winner Utopie Des Bordes, as the ten-year-old daughter of Antarctique - offered in foal to Balko - was knocked down to Highflyer Bloodstock's Anthony Bromley for €120,000.

Bromley, racing and bloodstock advisor to Munir and Souede, indicated that he and Highflyer colleague David Minton both had other clients lined up for the dispersal mares, and it was Minton who went to €85,000 for Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle winner Une Artiste, who was offered in foal to Martaline.

Ryan's Rose

Also among the draft's headline prices was Daring Rose, a five-year-old winning daughter of Al Namix carrying to Saint Des Saints, who went the way of Ryan Mahon after a final bid of €85,000.

"I absolutely loved her, she's a lovely model, very athletic and has a good pedigree to go with it," Mahon said of the four-time winner, who gained black type when runner-up in a Grade 3 hurdle race at Auteuil.

"She's been bought for Sarah Faulks, an English breeder who has horses like Roksana with the Skeltons. She has six or seven mares at present and the plan will be to breed to race."

Daring Rose is out of Prime Rose, a Video Rock half-sister to Grade 2 bumper scorer and Listed-winning hurdler Dame Rose.

Howson and Houldsworth hang tough

Among a strong representation of British and Irish agents and owners that had hung around for the Munir and Souede mares were Geoffrey Howson and Matthew Houldsworth, and the pair made their rare foray into the jumps market a successful one when they secured Omessa Has for €55,000.

The winning six-year-old by Martaline, offered carrying to Haras de la Hetraie's Kapgarde, was purchased on behalf of Robin and Scarlett Knipe of Cobhall Court Stud, the breeders responsible for, among others, Thistlecrack.

"She's a lovely mare and I think Martaline is a very good sire, I'm a big fan of his," said Howson. "I know Nicky Henderson thought a lot of her when she was in training too."

All 21 lots from the Munir and Souede dispersal, offered through Haras du Lieu des Champs, changed hands for turnover of €1,287,500 at an average of €61,310.

"There was a strong market and everything has been sold, so it's a happy ending," said an emotional Richard Powell of Haras du Lieu des Champs, who boarded Munir and Souede's broodmare band.

Final figures

The Munir and Souede dispersal contributed to turnover of €3,032,500 on Tuesday - up 42 per cent year-on-year.

In turn the average also rose by 34 per cent to €25,060, while the median was up to €15,000 from €13,000 in 2017. The clearance rate was 71 per cent, with 121 of 171 offered lots changing hands.

A record-setting renewal of the four-day Breeding Stock Sale concluded with a new high mark for turnover of €33,252,500 - up six per cent on 2017's return. The average price was up by seven per cent to €48,755, while the median slipped from €19,000 to €18,000.

A total of 900 lots were offered over the four days of trade in Deauville, with 682 changing hands for a clearance rate of 76 per cent.

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