(Edited Arqana press release)
A Dubawi – Lady Bex colt, which is a member of his sire’s first crop, set a sale record when he brought 280,000 euros (approximately $376,538) May 9 during the upbeat Arqana breeze-up auction at Saint-Cloud racecourse in France. Paul Nataf, acting on behalf of his longtime client Gérard Laboureau, purchased the colt from Willie Browne’s Mocklershill operation.
The final results of the sale included a gross of 4,040,000 euros ($5,432,911) for the 97 horses that sold. Their average price was 41,649 euros ($56,009). Horses sold privately grossed 112,500 euros ($151,288).
Last year, the 88 horses that sold grossed 3,061,000 euros and averaged 34,784 euros. Horses sold privately grossed 253,240 euros.
“Our aim was to raise the level of the catalog, improve the quality of the breeze-up presentation, and broaden the scope of our audience,” said Arqana president Eric Hoyeau. “The increase registered across the board tends to prove that these objectives have been met.”
According to Arqana officials, a generous premium program for French owners and high purses, along with a new bonus award scheme for the breeze-up auction’s graduates, contributed to the strong performance.
The new date for the sale, which was held on the eve of the the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (Fr-I, French Two Thousand Guineas) and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Fr-I, French One Thousand Guineas) at Longchamp, seemed to attract numerous new buyers.
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