Arqana stages its Arc Sale at Saint-Cloud Saturday, with the usual spate of
potentially high-class horses-in-training on offer. Just 12 months ago, Martin
Schwartz made an inspired purchase of Elusive Wave (Elusive City) for
€660,000. The following day, she ran second in the Prix Marcel Boussac (Fr-G1) and
went on to classic glory in this year’s Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French One
Thousand Guineas) (Fr-G1).
In 2007,
the €665,000 sale topper was Racinger (Spectrum), who has since
collected last year’s Prix Messidor (Fr-G3) and this year’s Prix Quincey (Fr-G3). Previous
graduates include the 2006 San Luis Obispo H. (G2) winner, Atlando (Ire); the
multiple Grade 1 scorer Megahertz (GB), who was sold
to Oceanic Bloodstock for what seems a bargain €600,000 eight years ago; and the
fellow top-level scorers Elmhurst and Aube Indienne (Fr).
Topping the alumni is Urban Sea (Miswaki), whose son Sea the Stars
(Cape Cross [Ire]) is on the verge of attempting to emulate her Arc
victory of 1993.
As usual, the 65-strong catalog features cast-offs from His
Highness the Aga Khan, Ecurie Wildenstein and the Wertheimers, with trainers
Andre Fabre, Jean-Claude Rouget, Freddie Head, John Hammond, Criquette Head-Maarek
and Elie Lellouche responsible for some of the chief attractions.
Among the offerings are VARENAR (Rock of Gibraltar [Ire]), TOPCLAS (Kutub),
RULER OF MY HEART (Green Tune), HARD LIFE (Peintre Celebre) and POUVOIR ABSOLU
(Sadler’s Wells).
This year, the
introduction of a “wild card” system offers proof of Arqana’s enterprise.
“The
horses-in-training market is a particularly reactive one; therefore we have
wished to loosen the constraints imposed by the printing of a catalog in order
to allow vendors to enter a horse whose sale has become timely and buyers to
acquire a lot that has become more desirable after the catalog was published,”
Arqana President Eric Hoyeau said.
Selling gets underway after the first
day of the Arc meeting at Longchamp. Full catalog and updates can be
viewed on www.arqana.com.