THE select sale of horses in training held at Saint-Cloud on the eve of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe received a most timely boost that afternoon when Auvrey landed the Group 2 Qatar Prix Chaudenay at Longchamp.

This helped to push the three-year-old’s ring price to €800,000 and the Elie Lellouche-trained colt will now head to Australia to race for the China Horse Club. Michael Wallace signed the purchase docket. Auvrey’s ultimate aim will be the Melbourne Cup in 2015.

Indeed, Wallace bought the top three lots, all of which were consigned to the sale by owner-breeder Gerard Augustin-Normand. The others were the three-year-old filly Cristolles and the colt Orbec. All three lots are from the first crop of Le Havre. Cristolles and Orbec were both trained by Jean-Claude Rouget and the filly cost Wallace €720,000. She finished last in the Prix de l’Opera the following afternoon and could continue her racing career in France or the USA.

Also with the option of a trip to Australia is the listed winner Orbec and he has been a model of consistency, winning or being placed in all his six starts. Another Wallace purchase was the juvenile Burnt Sugar at €350,000 and he turned out for the Group 1 Prix Jean Luc Lagardere on Sunday where he finished fourth. Previously a Group 3 winner at Kempton for Richard Hannon, he is expected to continue his career in Singapore.

Dermot Weld was paying his first visit to the Arc Sale and the focus of his attention was the three-year-old colt Behesht, consigned by one of his principal patrons, the Aga Khan. Trained in France by Alain de Royer Dupre, this stakes-winning son of sire sensation Sea The Stars cost the Rosewell House handler €525,000 and the colt will now race for Calumet Farm. Weld expects him to win a group race next year.

The best priced two-year-old was the Invincible Spirit colt Citron Spirit, trained to win a Group 3 by Matthieu Palussiere, and he was sold privately to MAB Agency for €450,000, the price he was led out unsold at earlier in the session. He finished three lengths behind the winner in the Prix Jean Luc Lagardere the following afternoon.

He was closely followed in value by The Blue Eye, a son of Dubawi who cost Gerard Larrieu of Chantilly Bloodstock €400,000. The colt will head to Qatar and aim for a local Group 1 race there, the same path taken by Dubday who was purchased at this sale last year.

Stephen Hillen Bloodstock was acting for Dr Jim Hay when paying €350,000 for the three-year-old Calling Out. The colt was placed earlier in the day at Longchamp in the Group 2 Qatar Prix Dollar but he could yet change hands again as Hillen believes that he could be a horse for Hong Kong.

Fourteen horses made €200,000 or more and five of these were sold to Michael Wallace, while Anthony Stroud Bloodstock bought two of that group. A smaller catalogue this year saw a slight increase in the percentage sold (65% against 59% in 2013), but the aggregate, average and median all soared upwards by 23%, 49% and 60% respectively.