Record-breaking Rougir heads five Arqana millionaires at €3,000,000

Prix de l'Opera heroine Rougir presented buyers with an exceptionally rare opportunity to purchase a Group 1 winner just two months after her top-flight triumph. An epic bidding battle duly ensued on day one of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale in Deauville, with the hammer falling at an auction-house record price of €3,000,000.

The decibels dropped inside the packed auditorium as a €500,000 opening bid was lodged with auctioneer Pierrick Moreau. Raises of €100,000 flew in from all directions, with David Redvers, stationed in the shadows outside the ring-side offices, and Nicky Bertran de Balanda, down the shoot to the left of the rostrum, involved until late on.

However, after a lengthy pause and with the bid board at €2.8 million, Michel Zerolo of Oceanic Bloodstock threw in a €200,000 increase that pushed the price to a level that his rivals were unwilling to match.

"She's been bought for a partnership between Peter Brant, MV Magnier and Michael Tabor," revealed Zerolo after signing the seven-figure docket. "It's a lot of money, obviously, but she's a very good filly so you have to pay.

"I would be a rocket scientist if I told you I knew she would cost exactly €3 million! She will race on, that's for sure, although it's still to be decided where she will go. It's very unusual [to get a filly like this at public auction], she's very rare, that's why you have to pay a lot of money for them."

Michel Zerolo (left) after signing for Rougir at an auction-house record price of €3,000,000Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

The three-year-old daughter of Territories was offered by Sumbe on behalf of the Chehboub family's Le Haras de la Gousserie, whose yellow and green silks Rougir carried to four victories. She won three times at two, including the Group 3 Prix des Reservoirs, and was also third to Tiger Tanaka in the Prix Marcel Boussac.

She scaled new heights this year, beaten just half a length by Mother Earth in the Prix Rothschild, before she finished a head third to Rumi in the Prix de la Nonette and then made her Group 1 breakthrough in the Prix de l'Opera.

"We would have been happy to keep her in training as a four-year-old as she's such a good filly," said an emotional Pauline Chehboub. "This is a new experience for us to sell, there's a lot of pressure, but she's been a champion at two and three so she deserves a price like that. Nicky Bertran de Balanda loved her, all season he made a lot of offers for her but my father wouldn't sell her privately."

Rougir's price has been on a remarkably steep upward trajectory as she was signed for by Guy Petit at just €14,000 as a foal before agent Francoise Dupuis gave €55,000 at the August Yearling Sale of 2019. She is the third foal out of the Listed-placed Elusive City mare Summer Moon, who was bought by breeder Jan Krauze for just €23,000 in 2017.

Rougir's sale capped a particularly fruitful 2021 for the Haras de la Gousserie team, as the owner's colours have also been carried to Group 1 glory by Champion Stakes scorer Sealiway, as well as notable victories for the likes of dual Group 2 winner Skazino and Listed victor Kenway.

"We still have good horses and a lot of yearlings with good pedigrees, including the half-sister to Rougir by Style Vendome," continued Chehboub. "She's a beautiful filly. What a year! We don't know how many years we will have like this because we know it's difficult. But we have hopes for next year and we have a few projects ongoing, like building a stable in Chantilly."

More glory for Grand

Rougir pipped Grand Glory by a nose when winning the Prix de l'Opera, and repeated the feat in the Arqana ring on Saturday with the runner-up knocked down at €2.5m to Anne-Sophie Yoh, signing as Yohea.

The first-crop daughter of Olympic Glory, who was conceived when the four-time Group 1 winner stood at a fee of €15,000, has won six times during her 18-race career. Her finest hour came when she delivered a withering late run to deny Audarya in the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet, with Thundering Nights, Cayenne Pepper and Lady Bowthorpe among those in behind.

"We are really pleased as this is for a new owner and she's a lovely filly," said Yoh after signing for the Haras de Castillon-consigned five-year-old. "The owner has the most beautiful stud for showjumping and dressage horses and he would like to invest in thoroughbreds. At the moment the schedule for the filly is not decided, she may race again in February but for sure she will go to one of the best stallions in future."

Grand Glory first changed hands at the Arqana October Yearling Sale, where she was sold by breeder Haras De Bourgeauville to Marco Bozzi in an €18,000 transaction outside of the ring.

She is the fifth foal out of Amelie and Robert Ehrnrooth's Madonna Lily, a daughter of Daylami homebred at Bourgeauville who has produced four successful sons and daughters, including Bois D'Argent, a Listed-winning son of Toronado. In turn, Madonna Lily, a half-sister to the Grade 2-winning Minakshi, is out of Maria De La Luz, a daughter of Machiavellian who was bought for FF400,000 in Deauville in 1997.

Wildfeder staying with Ammerland

Just five days earlier Waldlied, a three-parts sister to Arc hero Waldgeist, stole the show at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale when Newsells Park Stud bought out partners Gestut Ammerland at 2,200,000gns.

On Saturday it was Ammerland's turn to take a piece of the family silver home as a bid of €2.05m secured another sibling, Wildfeder.

The three-year-old daughter of Galileo is the fifth foal out of the blue hen Waldlerche, a Monsun half-sister to Masked Marvel from the famous German 'W' family.

"It's a story we had to carry on," said the German operation's representative Crispin de Moubray. "I bought half of the mother, Waldlerche, as a yearling for €50,000, and she's given us an Arc winner. It was our last chance to stay in the family as we're dissolving the partnership with Newsells Park Stud. They’ve got Waldlerche and Waldlied, and now we have Waldgeist’s full-sister Wildfeder so we're very happy."

Wildfeder is one of five winners out of Waldlerche, having landed a Saint-Cloud maiden while in training with Andre Fabre.

Purplepay sells during purple patch

During an intense period of seven-figure action Nicky de Balanda outlasted David Redvers to land recent Criterium International third Purplepay with a bid of €2m. The two-year-old daughter of sire sensation Zarak, who was offered by Haras des Capucines on behalf of owner Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois, is set to continue her racing career across the Atlantic.

Purplepay: 'She's a lovely filly, she looked really nice here at the sales and she had a great vetting.'Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

"I'm relieved as obviously that was a hard battle," said De Balanda. "She's a lovely filly, she looked really nice here at the sales and she had a great vetting. The sire is doing great and she looks like she can be a top filly for next year.

"There's not that many top-class fillies on the market. She showed a lot of improvement at the end of the season and hopefully she should get a bit more distance so she could be one for the Classics.

"She ticks a lot of boxes, obviously you have to pay for that but we're very happy to have her. Her future is in America as she's been bought for Lael Stables and will be trained by Arnaud Delacour."

Purplepay was bred by Lemiere Dubois from the Lawman mare Piedra, a daughter of Group 3 winner Albisola whose page traces back to the likes of Ectot and Most Improved. The two-time winner Purplepay was trained in France by Cedric Rossi, who also oversaw the racing career of sales-topper Rougir.

Stateside mission for Speak Of The Devil

Another seven-figure filly set to continue her racing career in the US is Speak Of The Devil, who was knocked down to Zerolo's Oceanic Bloodstock at €1.95m.

The four-year-old daughter of Wootton Bassett won four Listed contests for owner Rashit Shaykhutdinov, including when giving weight away all round in the Prix Tantieme on her most recent outing.

The half-sister to triple Group 3 winner Morando also finished a fast-finishing second, beaten just a nose, by Dream And Do in last year's Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

Speak Of The Devil takes in her surroundings at ArqanaCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

"She's going to America and will go to Chad Brown for Peter Brant," said Zerolo. "The rest is on the page. She's a good filly, a fantastic filly in fact, is by a super sire and has a good pedigree.

"We bought her dam, Moranda, last year too [for €150,000]. I hope Mr Brant is going to be lucky, we need to be at that price, we need all the luck we can buy! Her last race was fantastic, carrying a penalty and beating those colts. She should have won the French Guineas too."

The Sumbe-consigned Speak Of The Devil was making her third sales ring appearance, having previously fetched €45,000 as a foal from Meridian International before she was resold to Fabrice Chappet for €62,000 at the following year's October Yearling Sale.

Westerberg on a solo mission

Another lot whose price soared beyond the half million mark was the Group 3-placed Tangut, who went the way of Jamie McCalmont, acting on behalf of Westerberg, at €640,000. The four-year-old daughter of German champion sire Adlerflug boasts one of the catalogue's deepest pages that features no less than three Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners.

Tangut is a half-sister to Tijuana, the daughter of Toylsome responsible for Torquator Tasso, also by Alderflug, who famously denied Tarnawa and Hurricane Lane at Longchamp in October. The pedigree traces back to Allegretta, dam of the breed-shaping Urban Sea, her epoch-defining son Galileo and his Arc-winning half-brother Sea The Stars.

"Look at the pedigree," said McCalmont when asked what appealed most about the Ecurie des Monceaux-consigned filly. "You've got three Arc winners on the page, how often do you see that in a catalogue? My client was very interested in getting into some German families and she's been bought for Westerberg, which is the operation of Emily and Georg von Opel.

"We're thinking about racing her on, or we might breed from her next year, we haven't decided yet as we weren't sure we'd be able to buy her."

Expanding on the decision to buy into a blue-chip German family, McCalmont continued: "Everyone has gone speed mad but German horses have won two of the last four Arcs.

"Things go in trends and it's all well and good to be injecting speed, speed, speed, but the best turf races in the world are all over 12 furlongs. If you want to win the Arc or the Japan Cup or the Breeders' Cup Turf, you need to stay 12 furlongs."

McCalmont added: "Mr Von Opel is a partner with Coolmore in a lot of horses but this is a solo purchase."

Later in the session McCalmont was back in action on Westerberg's behalf and went to €600,000 for Deia, a Listed-winning and Group 3-placed sister to Grosser Preis von Berlin winner turned Haras de Montaigu resident Dschingis Secret.

Dubois enjoys his moment in the Sun

Just a few lots after selling his former colour bearer Purplepay for €2m, owner Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois reinvested some of that windfall when giving €620,000 for Sun Bear, who was offered by Ecurie des Monceaux.

The four-year-old daughter of Dubawi and Irish Oaks heroine Great Heavens was offered in foal to Siyouni. She won once from eight starts for Lady Bamford when claiming a Windsor maiden while in training with John Gosden. She added to her value when third in a Hanover Listed race for Jerome Reynier back in June.

Dubois signed as Ecurie Hunter Valley, a partnership with fellow trotting enthusiast Matthieu Millet, who said: "Her pedigree is perfect and I trust Jean-Pierre as a judge of a horse because he's simply a master."

De Seroux says Aloha to Star

A lively top end of the market also played host to Aloha Star, who drew a winning play of €550,000 from Emmanuel de Seroux of Narvick International, bidding from his usual spot in the restaurant that overlooks the sales ring.

The three-year-old daughter of Starspangledbanner proved to be a shrewd buy by Hubie de Burgh and trainer Fozzy Stack as she landed two races, including the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes, and also finished a close third to Lucky Vega in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes.

"She's a beautiful mare, absolutely gorgeous, and she was a very classy two-year-old who showed plenty of speed," said De Seroux. "I have a feeling that Starspangledbanner could be a very good broodmare sire and it's an interesting pedigree – speed on top but going back to a very classy Wertheimer family.

"Galiway is on the page and we know what a good sire he is. There's a lot happening on the page. She's been bought for Mr Ito of Grand Farm in Japan."

Wertheimer brothers back into familiar family

Pierre-Yves Bureau and the Badgers Bloodstock team of Tom and Grant Pritchard-Gordon clashed over the Godolphin-consigned Romantic Song, with the former winning out on the Wertheimer brothers' behalf at €480,000.

The daughter of Shamardal boasts strong credentials of becoming a blue-chip producer of the future, as not only did she win a Hanover Listed contest by clear water during her time on the track but she hails from one of the finest families in the stud book.

The three-year-old is out of Tearless, a Listed-winning daughter of Street Cry and Fillies' Mile heroine Playful Act, who in turn is a daughter of the blue hen Magnificient Style, dam of Nathaniel and Great Heavens, as well as Echoes In Eternity, Percussionist, and Changing Skies among seven black type siblings.

Another member of Magnificient Style's high-achieving brood is Distinctive Look, dam of three-time Grade 1-winning hurdler Supasundae and a former member of the Wertheimers' broodmare band. Bureau said: "It's a very good pedigree, we used to have a part of the family actually so we're very happy to get back into it. She's a very nice filly as well."

A wild session of selling saw €32,217,000 change hands, a 70 per cent increase on the corresponding session in 2020. The average was up by 71 per cent at €209,200, while the median made a more modest climb of 11 per cent to €86,000. The clearance rate was 73 per cent as 154 of 211 presented lots found a buyer.

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale continues on Sunday at 10am local time (9am GMT).

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