'The standout today' - €160,000 Without Parole filly heads the way of Mandore and Madaket Stables at Arqana

If the opening session of Arqana's October Yearling Sale was dominated by established names in the stallion ranks, then day two showcased some more recent additions to Europe's yearling sale catalogues. 

Leading the way was Newsells Park Stud's Without Parole, whose Haras de la Louviere-consigned daughter topped the day at €160,000 (lot 248), while fellow newcomers Romanised and Chachnak also posted notable results. 

Mandore Agency's Nicolas de Watrigant was probably unaware of who the opposition was as he continued to up the bids from outside the ring, although his determination was clear to see. 

"She’s a cracking filly and was my pick of the day," said Watrigant. "She's very racy, vetted perfectly and is a good individual. 

"She’s going to America for Madaket Stables and I’m excited to get her for them. They have been so successful and I hope she brings them more."

Madaket's animating force, Sol Kumin, has enjoyed great success in bringing together a variety of investors to join him for the ride, most of whom have been rewarded with high-profile victories.

Watrigant has been the European eyes and ears for Kumin and agent Bradley Weisbord, and successful European imports include Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Uni and Grade 1 winner A Raving Beauty.

Bred and raced by John and Tanya Gunther, Without Parole's first crop have been well-received this sales season. Louviere's filly becomes the stallion's highest-priced yearling, eclipsing the 120,000gns paid by Alex Elliott for a colt consigned by Sherbourne Lodge at Tattersalls Book 1. 

Watrigant added: "I haven’t seen that many yearlings by Without Parole but he’s by Frankel and won the St James’s Palace, so he was a very good horse. But the filly herself was the standout today."

The Mandore principal was on sure footing in terms of a proven stallion just two lots earlier, when snapping up a daughter of Zarak from the immediate family of Prix Vermeille winner Sweet Lady presented by Haras de l'Hotellerie (lot 246).

The filly will be staying much closer to home after Watrigant signed at €120,000 on behalf of prominent French owner Jean-Claude Seroul. 

Her Motivator dam, Phoebe Buffay, has already produced two winners from as many foals, with her two-year-old son by Attendu winning on debut at Lyon La Soie earlier this month. 

"We had to pay a bit more than we expected but the Zaraks are proving very successful and she was a cracking filly," said Watrigant. "He's been a lucky stallion for me. She has a good page but mainly we’ve bought her as a racing prospect and she was the nicest one by the sire today."

'I loved everything about her' - daughter of New Bay all quality for Skiffington

Haras de Castillon scored a notable success when Amanda Skiffington fought off persistent opposition from Carlos and Yann Lerner to secure a filly by New Bay for €120,000 (lot 288). 

The filly's winning Invincible Spirit dam Sarbacane has already produced a four-time winner stateside in The Right Stuff, while she is a half-sister to Sudan, winner of the 2007 Gran Premio di Milano when it still held Group 1 status for the star-studded combination of Frankie Dettori, Gary Tanaka and Elie Lellouche. 

Haras de Castillon's filly by New Bay is another highlight at Arqana's October Yearling SaleCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

Skiffington said: "She was really well-balanced, I really liked her and I rang [Ballylinch Stud's] John O’Connor because he always supports his stallions if I find a nice one. I thought she was a lovely filly, really deep and attractive."

Blue Point colt continues La Motteraye run

Like many buyers over the first two days, Chantilly-based trainer Satoshi Kobayashi found himself outbid for several targets. But that changed when he struck at €110,000 for a well-bred daughter of Blue Point (lot 331).

Brought to market by La Motteraye, she is out of the winning Dubawi mare Turea, herself a granddaughter of George Strawbridge's blue hen producer In Clover. 

Alongside a trio of Group 1 winners in With You, We Are and Call The Wind, In Clover is also the dam of Incahoots, a Listed winner for Wertheimer et Frere and the dam of their recent Prix de la Foret heroine Kelina. 

Satoshi Kobayashi: "She is beautifully bred and very well put together"Credit: Zuzanna Lupa

Kobayashi said: "She is not over-big but is beautifully bred and very well put together. The stallion is very much on everyone's lips at the moment and the family is a very lively one, given Kelina won on Arc day. 

"I have bought her for a Japanese client of mine and she will come home to be trained by me."

Chachnak colt to stay in France

Chachnak proved himself to be an accomplished and durable colt when trained by Fabrice Vermeulen, landing both the Prix de Guiche and the Prix du Prince d'Orange at three.

As a son of Kingman out of the Classic-placed Tamazirte, a place at stud was virtually assured but found a somewhat obscure home - in thoroughbred breeding terms at least - at Haras de la Gastine, the breeding base of Jean-Pierre Dubois, a man better known in the trotting world but versatile enough to succeed in almost every horseracing sphere. 

Chachnak stood for a fee of just €2,500 for two years before and then took a brief break in the early part of 2023 to return to the track with Vermeulen, before returning to stud duties. 

While such a ploy is much more common in trotting, it marks Chachnak out as something of a rarity in thoroughbred breeding, though the stallion's intriguing story proved no deterrent to agent Alessandro Marconi, who gave €110,000 for the day's highest-priced colt, bred by Dubois and consigned by Haras des Capucines (lot 264).

Marconi said: "He’s a new sire and we’re always looking for value. I liked the dam’s pedigree as well as the individual himself. Hopefully he’ll be lucky for the new owners, who have trusted me blindly on this one. The horse will certainly stay in France." 

Out of the winning Gone West mare Red Love, the colt is a half-brother to Red Line, a Listed winner by Sageburg, who also began his career at La Gastine.

Day one strength carries over into part two

Comparisons with 2022 are not entirely straightforward as part one of this year's sale reverted to a single day instead of two, but the key indicators showed a slight uptick when compared with the equivalent session in 2021.

Overall, 98 of the 113 lots to pass through the ring were sold at a very healthy 86 per cent clearance rate for an aggregate of €3,578,500. 

The average price rose from €35,678 in 2021 to €36,515, although the median dipped from €28,500 to €25,500, possibly an indicator of the sense of realism such a high clearance rate implies on the part of vendors.  

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