'There’s been very little concern about the Trump tariffs' - Fasig-Tipton offers hope for American involvement at Arqana

Arqana's chief executive Freddy Powell is hoping the market forces in effect at Fasig-Tipton will continue in Deauville for the company’s flagship August Yearling Sale. 

Trade at the Saratoga Yearling Sale reached unprecedented heights, with records set across the range of key market indices. Turnover reached nine-figure territory for the first time in the boutique sale’s history, up 23 per cent year-on-year to $100,845,000. The average was up 17 per cent to $626,365, while the median went up six points from $425,000 to $450,000. 

A total of 181 yearlings were offered and 161 found a buyer for an impressive clearance rate of 89 per cent. The buyback rate was just 11 per cent, the lowest at the sale since 1981. 

Moreover, 25 lots sold for $1 million or more, led by the sales-topping Into Mischief colt bought by Coolmore and White Birch Farm for $4.1m. The previous benchmark for seven-figure lots was 14, set in 2021. 

The three leading buyers – John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock ($5.425m), Mike Repole’s Repole Stable ($5.41m) and the Coolmore-White Birch axis ($5.35m) – have all been heavily involved in the August Sale in recent years, and that was not the only source of encouragement for Powell.

Paul Shanahan and MV Magnier: the Coolmore men were in action at SaratogaCredit: Fasig-Tipton Photo

“The main one for me is that we have a lot of people coming from America,” he said. “We have a full plane landing in Deauville next Wednesday straight from Saratoga. That is really encouraging, and there seems to be great motivation among those on board; I could feel that a lot of people are really keen. The names you’ve seen on the sales results – and obviously some of the new clients in Saratoga – they’re all on board to come to Deauville. It’s all positive.”

Explore the Arqana August Sale catalogue

Powell acknowledged that direct comparisons between the US and Europe bloodstock markets are not entirely straightforward, particularly given the wider political and economic factors presently at play. 

US president Donald Trump’s sweeping trade policy has seen goods sold into America from the EU hit with a 15 per cent tariff, while those from Britain incur a ten per cent charge. When bloodstock is being imported into the US, the rate applied is dependent on where the horse is bred, rather than the point of sale.  

However, while Trump’s tariffs have been a significant talking point in the lead up to the European sales season, Powell said the concerns expressed in Britain, France and Ireland were not mirrored on the other side of the Atlantic. 

“There’s been very little feedback, questions or concerns about the Trump tariffs,” said Powell, who was on the ground at Saratoga. “I don’t know if that’s because people don't realise or if it just doesn’t really matter to them. My counterparts from Tattersalls and Goffs were in the same position as I was; they had heard very little about the tariffs. 

“The few people who mentioned it to me said, at the end of the day, ten or 15 per cent is one or two bids, that’s all. We’ll see how people react. All we can say for now is that we wish it was different, but that’s the way it is.”

Freddy Powell (second right): "The main thing for me is that we have a lot of people coming from America."Credit: Racing Post

Powell continued: “Of course it’s not about where the horse is bought, it’s where they’re bred. But more than half, probably two-thirds, of the horses bought by Americans in Europe stay in Europe, at least to start with.”

Another Trump policy, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was cited as a possible driver of the Saratoga market. The bill has been hailed a positive for American owners and breeders, as it includes a 100 per cent bonus depreciation tax incentive. Powell felt there were also more bloodstock-specific factors at play, too.  

“The new tax break in America is one of the reasons people suggested the sale was so good, but they also have such fantastic horses,” he said. “They have a wonderful generation of first-season sires with Flightline, Life Is Good, Golden Pal, Jack Christopher and Epicenter. They have five or six really exciting first-season sires, and that’s definitely helping as well.”

He added: “The capacity of that country to create new buyers is absolutely unbelievable. Following the sale, I didn't know the names of one out of four purchasers of the horses making over a million. I was pretty amazed by the sale, they’re doing a fantastic job and the scale of the market is something else.” 

On the subject of the August Sale, which brings the curtain up on the European yearling circuit in just over a week's time, Powell said: “Of course we don’t know what the European market will be like, but someone has to start! We don’t feel like we’re going into the unknown because there’s such an atmosphere around Deauville with the racing meeting as well as the sale. It’s a wonderful shop window for French racing, and European racing in general, to welcome the world as early as this in the year. It’s more exciting than anything else.”

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