THE Arqana Autumn Sale kicked off on a high on Monday as two wildcards offered to dissolve a partnership between Simon Munir, Isaac Souede and Haras de Saint Voir fetched €710,000 and €520,000.
Looking at the results, it may have been fair to assume that Highflyer Bloodstock’s Anthony Bromley was acting on behalf of his ‘Double Green’ clients when securing the top lots, but he was joined by Dan Skelton, who will train the pair on behalf of Lindy and Mark O’Hare.
The most expensive of Skelton’s new recruits, Mets Ta Ceinture, becomes the highest-priced National Hunt filly in Europe. His gain is the loss of Anne-Sophie Pacault, who trained the Hunter’s Light three-year-old to finish second in the Grade 2 AQPS flat race before winning a Grade 3 by eight lengths at Lyon.
Hugo Merienne, meanwhile, trained Highflyer’s €520,000 purchase Merci Mam to make a winning debut over hurdles at Lyon last month. The Karaktar gelding is a half-brother to Willie Mullins’ listed-winning chaser Instit, out of a half-sister to dual Grade 1 winner Line Marine.
“I know both of the horses, and I know that they have a lot of potential and a promising future before them,” Bromley commented. “We saw them this morning and they passed all the vet checks. They’re quality horses with good pedigrees, and they are rare commodities on the market. We’re very happy.”
More power to Mullins
Skelton’s rival Willie Mullins was also busy recruiting through his agents Pierre Boulard and Harold Kirk. The combination stretched to €400,000 for Christophe Ferland’s wildcard offering Columbus, whose listed and Group 3 wins came over a mile and seven furlongs. The Oasis Dream colt also finished third in the Group 1 Preis von Europa this September.
“He’s a horse made to race,” Pierre Boulard said of the four-year-old. “His races on the flat are impressive, and we’re very happy.”
Later in the session, Closutton’s dream team gave €240,000 for MES CHERS FRERES as part of the dispersal between Munir, Souede and Haras de Saint Voir. The Patrice Quinton-trained three-year-old won his debut on the level in May and returned last month to finish fourth on hurdle bow at Auteuil.
The ownership dispersal also saw promising four-year-old Le Nez Creux bound for Ireland, but her trainer was not revealed by Nicolas Bertran de Balanda after he bought the three-time winner with Alex Elliott for €320,000.
“We’re very happy!” the French agent said. “She’s a good filly that I’ve followed since her debut. She’s put up some good runs this autumn with not much time in between. She’ll go to Ireland where we’ll give her a bit of time.”
Trained by Francois Nicolle, the daughter of No Risk At All was pitched at Grade 1 level after gaining her first chase success by 12 lengths at Auteuil last month.
Strong across the board
The Aga Khan Studs’ highly-regarded three-year-old Midak was the highest-priced lot to remain on the flat after bringing €300,000 from Dermot Farrington on behalf of Fitri Hay. Earlier in the session, Farrington gave €230,000 for the Mickael Delzangles-trained three-year-old Chibitty, who progressed to place in a Group 3 when last seen.
The addition of the lots owned by Simon Munir, Isaac Souede and Haras de Saint Voir boosted returns on the first of four days trade, with turnover up 69% on last year’s equivalent session. The average price rose by an impressive 36% to €42,161, while 21 lots sold for six figures – almost double the number last year. The clearance rate of 85% indicated healthy demand in all areas.